TAMPA, Fla. -- The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will be without All-Pro safety Antoine Winfield Jr. because of a right ankle/foot injury, sources told ESPN on Monday. He is expected to miss at least two weeks, but realistically, it could be three or four, a source said.
Winfield suffered the injury on one of the final plays of the Bucs' 37-20 win over the Washington Commanders in Week 1 on Sunday and left the stadium in a walking boot. On top of that, starting cornerback Zyon McCollum left the game with a concussion, and reserve cornerbacks Bryce Hall and Josh Hayes suffered lower leg injuries.
Hall's dislocated right ankle and fractured fibula are expected to end his season.
The Bucs were down to one healthy cornerback Sunday in Jamel Dean, with nickelback/safety Christian Izien stepping in for nearly an entire half at outside corner, but now he'll likely have to play safety, a position he spent the summer learning.
Tyrek Funderburk, an undrafted free agent rookie out of Appalachian State who showed promise in training camp with several interceptions but missed the preseason with a foot injury, is the next man up. But that's it. The last time backup nickelback/safety Tavierre Thomas spent significant time at outside cornerback was with the Cleveland Browns in 2018. The Bucs' practice squad does not feature any cornerbacks, either -- only safeties in Marcus Banks and Rashad Wisdom.
Coach Todd Bowles recalled the 2021 season, when the Bucs first lost starting nickelback Sean Murphy-Bunting to an elbow injury in Week 1 that put him on injured reserve. Then in Week 3, Dean suffered a knee injury. The team signed 33-year-old Richard Sherman, who not only played in Week 4 but played nearly the entire game as Carlton Davis suffered a quad injury at the New England Patriots, which forced him to miss seven games.
"We had [safety Dee] Delaney and Pierre Desir and a lot of guys step up in that situation," Bowles said. "You make this team for a reason. Guys have got to play. We have to see something in them for them to make this team, and they've got to go out there and play."