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…
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