The Tampa Bay Buccaneers had an unexpected and unwanted addition to their Week 16 injury report on Friday when safety Antoine Winfield was held out of practice due to a calf issue. Winfield was subsequently designated as "questionable" for Sunday's game against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Fortunately, Winfield will not be held out of the game due to the new ailment, so the Buccaneers will have one of their top defensive playmakers in action for a critical contest in their pursuit of a third straight NFC South title. Winfield leads the Bucs with 107 tackles and also has a team-high 11 passes defensed to go with four tackles for loss, four sacks, six quarterback hits, two interceptions, five forced fumbles and three fumble recoveries.
Defensive lineman Will Gholston will also return to action after missing one game due to knee and ankle injuries. His inactive status in Green Bay last weekend snapped a streak of 101 consecutive games played for the Buccaneers. The Buccaneers have no players on the 53-man roster out due to injuries for Sunday's game. Linebacker Devin White is active again after missing three games with a foot ailment.
Tampa Bay promoted John Wolford from the practice squad in Week Nine, meaning the team is now carrying three quarterbacks on the 53-man roster. As such, the Bucs are taking advantage of the NFL's new "inactive third quarterback" rule again on Sunday. Wolford is on the inactive list for the game but would be allowed to play if both Baker Mayfield and Kyle Trask exited the game due to injury or ejection.
The Buccaneers and Jaguars submitted their list of inactives at 2:35 p.m. ET on Sunday, 90 minutes before the scheduled kickoff of their Week 16 game at Raymond James Stadium. The Buccaneers did not elevate any players from the practice squad on Saturday and thus had to name only five players inactive in order to get to the game day limit of 48.
Jacksonville's inactive information will be added shortly.
BUCCANEERS INACTIVES
- LB J.J. Russell
- DL Deadrin Senat
- T Brandon Walton
- OLB Markees Watts
- QB John Wolford
No Buccaneers are out due to injury. Wolford is the inactive third quarterback and would be eligible to play in the game if both Mayfield and Trask are injured or disqualified.
JAGUARS INACTIVES
- LB Yasir Abdullah
- DT Angelo Blackson
- T Chandler Brewer
- WR Zay Jones
- CB Gregory Junior
Jones is out due to injury.
