There might not be a more motivated player on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers roster this season than safety Antoine Winfield Jr.
That motivation reflected itself in ESPN’s annual Top 10 position rankings based on talks with NFL executives, where Winfield plummeted from No. 1 at his position in 2024 to No. 7 in 2025.
No player on Tampa Bay’s roster disappointed more last season than Winfield, who had the best season of his career and was an NFL All-Pro in 2023 and became the NFL’s highest paid defensive back of all time with a 4-year, $84.1 million contract extension in May 2024.
Winfield responded by having the worst season of his career as he missed 8 games due to injuries and was a non-factor/afterthought.
People around the NFL apparently took notice — one voter even left Winfield off his ballot altogether.
Winfield’s lack of splash in 2024 was noticeable, especially coming off an all-world performance the previous season that earned him a four-year, $84 million contract extension.
Baltimore Ravens safety Kyle Hamilton took over the No. 1 spot.
“Injuries held Winfield to nine games, and he never got in a rhythm of disrupting the football,” ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler wrote on July 10. “He finished the season with zero interceptions, 3 pass deflections, 2 sacks and zero forced fumbles. That was a big drop from 2023, when he recorded 6 sacks, 6 forced fumbles, 4 fumble recoveries and 3 interceptions … Voters are largely willing to give Winfield a pass for last year. After all, he is still in his prime.”
Buccaneers Secondary Shredded Without Winfield
We can make a pretty solid argument that Winfield is the most important player on the Buccaneers defense — mainly because we watched the secondary get shredded without him in 2024.
Tampa Bay ranked 30th in the NFL in pass defense in 2024, giving up 262.5 passing yards per game and 27 passing touchdowns. Never were those struggles more on display than in a 36-30 overtime loss to the Atlanta Falcons in Week 5 in which quarterback Kirk Cousins set a franchise record with 509 passing yards and 4 touchdowns with Winfield watching from the sidelines.
There’s even more of an impetus on Winfield being on the field in 2025.
That’s because there’s a pair of rookie cornerbacks who could contribute in a big way and need his leadership with second round pick Benjamin Morrison and third round pick Jacob Parrish.
NFL Insiders Changed Tone On Winfield
Winfield Jr. is a second-generation NFL superstar — the son of former NFL All-Pro cornerback and three-time Pro Bowler Antoine Winfield Sr., who played 14 seasons for three teams and had his best years playing for the Minnesota Vikings.
Winfield Jr. was a second-round pick (No. 45 overall) by the Buccaneers in the 2020 NFL Draft — the same year the Buccaneers selected NFL All-Pro offensive tackle Tristan Wirfs in the first round. The 2 rookies helped Tampa Bay win a Super Bowl that year.
PFF’s Zoltan Buday put Winfield Jr. at No. 1 on his list of the NFL’s Top 32 safeties last year.
“Winfield, who became the NFL’s highest-paid defensive back this offseason, was the highest-graded safety in the league last season (90.7),” Buday wrote. “The 25-year-old’s 92.0 PFF overall grade over the past three seasons leads the position, and his run-defense and pass-rush grades rank first among safeties, too.”
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