Antoine Winfield Is Determined To Beat Foot And Ankle Issues
October 17th, 2023
It’s easy to understand why stud Bucs safety Antoine Winfield Jr. wasn’t a first-round draft pick back in 2020.
He had two season-ending injuries in college that cost him most of his sophomore and junior seasons: hamstring and Lisfranc, respectively. Throw in being undersized and it’s understandable how Winfield landed with the Bucs midway through Round 2.
Winfield has had a bunch of nagging injuries during his Bucs years, including concussion issues. So he’s a guy who’s very aware of his body and is committed to staying healthy.
Around One Buc Palace, Winfield is known as a tireless worker who was NFL-ready on Day 1. And that took a new turn this season when Winfield decided to do his share of pre-practice and pregame warmup barefoot.
Winfield told the Buccaneers Radio Network this week that he ankle and foot issues last season focused him on strengthening those areas any way he could. And that’s why he’s gone the barefoot direction.
Interstingly, co-host Ali Marpet, the former Bucs guard, told Winfield that he went from having his ankles taped with three kinds of tape as a rookie — nearly a cast, Marpet said — to playing with no ankle support late in his career. Marpet credited the strength he built in his ankles without tape to increased success on the field.
Joe loves how Winfield is so committed to every detail. Hopefully, it keeps him healthy all season. He missed eight games over the 2021 and 2022 seasons.
October 17th, 2023 at 10:17 am
OH NO, NOT RYAN NEAL! Says the 2022 Godeke crowd above all level of genius as a rookie OL at a different original position. RYAN NEAL is second in tackles with 20 behind Lavonte with 25.
October 17th, 2023 at 10:17 am
Do bikram yoga !
October 17th, 2023 at 10:26 am
RYAN NEAL is second in tackles with 20 behind Lavonte with 25.
And first in giving up long touchdown passes!!
October 17th, 2023 at 10:39 am
Winfield is the real deal, a true professional. He’s never been a great coverage guy, but everything else is stellar.
The guys with recurring soft tissue issues, such as ME13 and his hamstring, need to keep warm and do stretches when not in the game. Seems simple but never seen it in the NFL.
Joe, how do the Bucs compare with the NFL over the last 3 years with soft tissue injuries? How good are our trainers?
October 17th, 2023 at 10:41 am
Neal: no passes defensed. No picks. No forced fumbles. No sacks.
October 17th, 2023 at 10:56 am
ATLBuc and ModHairKen
See what I mean about above all genius, people? 5 games into the season.
October 17th, 2023 at 11:26 am
Winfield injures is what has kept him from all pro and pro bolwes. Hope he can stay healthy cuz he is the kind of player that can last 12 or so years and walk away with a gold jacket he’s that good IF he can stay healthy…..
October 17th, 2023 at 6:43 pm
Love him but where was he during the lions game ? Was waiting all game for him to make a big play but it never came not like the first 4 games. If he wants to be great he’s got to show up in every game and in games against good teams
October 18th, 2023 at 12:35 am
Interesting about the no tape thing.
I had a medical doctor tell me the same thing about injuries I had. Basically he said to strengthen the muscles around the injuries. Makes sense. Although one of those did require surgery ultimately.
Hope he stays healthy.
Go Bucs!
October 18th, 2023 at 9:27 am
The cover-none pass defense that the Bucs played with in the last game was the saddest excuse for a secondary that I have EVER seen in my 65 years. How about from now on, we stop watching the catch and GO FOR THE BALL?
My biggest question though is about our offense. Whenever you see a winning team play, you can’t help but notice that their short yardage passes are always just beyond the first down marker. So why are the Buccaneer short passes always 2 or 3 yards short of that mark and tackled immediately? We have no ground game, so why don’t we do like the better teams and send our short yardage receivers 2 or 3 yards further so we’re not always 3 and out?