The Tampa Bay Buccaneers' offense took a step forward in 2024, finding a consistently effective ground game to pair with a still-prolific passing attack led by Baker Mayfield. After ranking 19th in points per game in 2023, the Buccaneers added nine points a game last fall and finished fourth on the list. The result was a 10-7 record, one win improved from the year before.
The final record might have been even better in 2024 if the Buccaneers defense hadn't concurrently taken a small step back. That group was seventh in points allowed in 2023 (19.1 per game) but fell to 16th (22.6) last year. Lack of pressure off the edges, some coverage issues in the middle of the field and persistent injury issues in the secondary kept the defense from fully jelling for much of the year.
The Buccaneers addressed several of those issues in the draft and free agency, adding Benjamin Morrison and Jacob Parrish to a cornerback room that needed a talent infusion and juicing up the edge rush rotation with veteran Haason Reddick and rookie David Walker. However, the biggest improvement on the Bucs' defense could come from within: If sixth-year safety Antoine Winfield Jr. can return to the first-team All-Pro form he displayed in 2023, the Bucs are likely to be far more difficult for opposing offenses to handle in 2025.
Given that Winfield's issues in 2024 were largely the result of a string of injuries, he is the most obvious bounce-back candidate on the Buccaneers' roster this season. After his incredible All-Pro campaign in 2023, Winfield deservedly landed a lucrative new long-term contract, but his first year on the deal was beset by foot and knee injuries that began immediately in Week One. After putting together an incredible stat line in 2023 that included 122 tackles, 6.0 sacks, eight QB hits, three interceptions, 12 passes defensed, six forced fumbles and four fumble recoveries, Winfield missed eight games in 2024 and didn't duplicate any of those statistical outputs.
But, entering his sixth NFL season, the soon-to-be 27-year-old Winfield is in his NFL prime and working hard to get back on his all-star track.
"He's been great," said Head Coach Todd Bowles on Tuesday, the third day of June in the midst of the Buccaneers' run of OTA practices. "I mean, he looks like he's in great shape. He's been here almost every day. He puts in the work, he puts in the time, and I like where he's at right now."
Barring another inconvenient rash of injuries, Winfield is the surest thing in the Bucs' secondary going into the 2025 season. It's not yet clear how work will be divided between the aforementioned rookies and incumbent starters Zyon McCollum and Jamel Dean, or who will man the slot. Second-year man Tykee Smith may be the favorite to start at safety next to Winfield after working primarily in the slot as a rookie, but he should get competition from Christian Izien and Kaevon Merriweather, among others. Winfield is the proven impact player, capable of making game-changing plays on a nearly weekly basis when he's at the top of his game.
And Winfield is keenly aware that that is exactly what the Bucs' defense needs after snaring just seven interceptions last season and losing several games that required one more defensive stop at the end. Even in his more limited playing time last year, Winfield recorded Tampa Bay's only defensive touchdown on a 58-yard scoop-and-score fumble return in a road win at New Orleans.
"Working in practice," said Winfield about creating takeaways. "I feel like I say this all the time when it's like, 'What do you do?' You have to work it in practice. You have to get those looks in practice so when it's a game, it's just muscle memory. You see the ball, punch it out. If it's on the floor, pick it up, scoop and score. It's just all muscle memory and just practice."
Winfield has had a whirlwind of a half-decade in the NFL since the Buccaneers drafted him in the second round in 2020. He started for a title-winning team as a rookie, finished fourth in the Defensive Rookie of the Year balloting and had an interception in the Super Bowl. He was in the Pro Bowl by the end of his second year and was a first-team All-Pro selection by the Associated Press in his fourth year, becoming the first Bucs safety to receive that honor since John Lynch more than two decades earlier. He's had the pleasure of playing in the postseason in all five of his seasons so far.
Yet it all still feels new to Winfield. And that may be especially true in 2025, when he has the opportunity to climb the ladder all over again to reclaim elite status at his position.
"It's football," said Winfield of his injury-led detour in 2024. "It's part of the game. Injuries happen but I'm excited for this year. Year 6 already, it's flying by. I feel like I still just got here. I'm excited for this year."
