TAMPA - Two-time Pro Bowl safety Antoine Winfield Jr. will miss at least Thursday night’s game in Dallas and potentially up to a month of action after suffering a rib fracture late in the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ loss to the Green Bay Packers, Head Coach Todd Bowles announced Monday.
“We won’t have Winfield Thursday,” Bowles said. “He has a slight rib fracture. He’ll be out two to four weeks, probably, from what I’m hearing.”
The injury is a significant blow to a Buccaneers defense that ranks fourth in the NFL in total defense, third in run defense and ninth in passes defensed after holding three straight opponents below 300 yards. Bowles did not indicate whether the team is considering placing Winfield on injured reserve, a move that would require him to miss a minimum of four games before returning to the active roster.
Through four games this season, Winfield is second on the team with 24 tackles and recorded a forced fumble in the fourth quarter against Green Bay - his 13th career forced fumble and first of 2026. Among all NFL defensive backs since 2020, only Baltimore’s Marlon Humphrey has more forced fumbles than Winfield, with 15. In that same span, Winfield has posted nine interceptions, 10 fumble recoveries and 18.0 sacks.
Sixth-year safety Ifeatu Melifonwu is the most likely replacement after picking up his first four defensive snaps with the Buccaneers following Winfield’s exit Sunday. Melifonwu was promoted from the practice squad last week after exhausting his allotted game-day elevation options. He carries 22 career starts - 14 across four seasons in Detroit and eight last season with Miami - along with 126 career tackles, 5.5 sacks, three interceptions, 14 passes defensed, one forced fumble and two fumble recoveries.
Veteran Miles Killebrew also provides depth at safety, and rookie Keionte Scott, currently the first-team slot corner, is capable of playing the position. Practice squad safeties J.J. Roberts and Silas Walters are available as game-day elevation options.
The Buccaneers face the Dallas Cowboys on Thursday night, just three days after the Packers loss, leaving the coaching staff little time to adjust before Winfield’s replacement must be ready to play.