NFL insider confirms suspicion surrounding injury to Bucs All-Pro Antoine Winfield, Jr.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers got hit with a dose of unfortunate news on Monday.  However, it likely wasn't anything they weren't prepared for, and it honestly could have been significantly worse.

All-Pro safety Antoine Winfield, Jr. is reportedly going to miss a couple of weeks with what is described as an ankle/foot sprain, per Bleacher Report NFL insider Jordan Schultz.

It's a tough blow on top of what the Bucs absorbed on Sunday with their secondary.  Three cornerbacks left the game with injuries, with none worse than Bryce Hall.  He suffered a broken fibula and dislocated right ankle that required him to be carted off the field .  On Monday, Todd Bowles announced he'd probably be out for the rest of the season as a result.

The Bucs also lost corners Josh Hayes (ankle) and Zyon McCollum (concussion) during the game.  Ultimately, that left the team with just Jamel Dean and slot corner Christian Izien - who filled in nicely on the outside - as options.

That's to say nothing of the injuries among the rest of the defense, particularly up front where the Bucs are ailing. Both starters Calijah Kancey and Logan Hall missed the game due to injuries.

Now, the Bucs will head up to Detroit to take on the team that bounced them from the playoffs just eight months ago with serious question marks on the back end of their defense (if not the line as well).  And they will surely be without one of their best players in Winfield, Jr.  A tough challenge in Jared Goff and the Lions offense just got extremely difficult, no doubt, regardless of what moves they make this week.

Fortunately, the Bucs won't have to try to navigate Winfield's injury for too long, it sounds like.

Related: Bucs' passing game is a lethal attack that can dominate the NFL in 2024