TAMPA - Antoine Winfield Jr. will miss two to four weeks with a rib fracture suffered in the fourth quarter of the Buccaneers’ Week Four game, pushing safety Ifeatu Melifonwu into the starting lineup, the team announced in its Week Five depth chart release.
Melifonwu stepped in immediately after Winfield went down, taking four of the five snaps the starter missed. Against Green Bay, Melifonwu appeared in 84% of the team’s special teams snaps, leading the club. The Buccaneers may scale back that special teams workload now that he is expected to play every defensive down.
The injury is the second significant blow to Tampa Bay’s offense and defense in recent weeks. Quarterback Baker Mayfield remains sidelined with a right thumb injury, and Head Coach Todd Bowles confirmed that undrafted rookie Jalon Daniels will hold the starting job until Mayfield returns. Daniels made his first career start in Week Four, playing all 63 offensive snaps and completing 19 of 27 passes for 148 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions while adding 55 rushing yards.
Running back Bucky Irving carried the ground game with 61 rushing yards on 37 snaps, while Kenny Gainwell logged 27 snaps and caught a 10-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter for his first score as a Buccaneer. Sean Tucker saw only three offensive snaps but converted a fourth-and-one and scored on a 2-yard touchdown run.
Tight end Cade Otton continues to be one of the most-used skill players in the NFL, playing 60 of a possible 63 snaps and catching four passes for 37 yards. Otton has been on the field for 98.2% of the Buccaneers’ offensive snaps this season, third among all tight ends behind Detroit’s Sam LaPorta and Green Bay’s Tucker Kraft. He ranks second on the team with 23 targets, one behind wide receiver Emeka Egbuka.
On defense, rookie linebacker Josiah Trotter returned from a one-game absence with a knee injury and recorded a team-leading nine tackles on 50 of 60 defensive snaps. Outside linebacker David Walker has seen his snap count climb every week, from zero in the season opener to nine, then 19, and now 24 in Week Four. With Rueben Bain Jr. still out with a shoulder injury, Al-Quadin Muhammad made his second consecutive start and played 32 snaps.
The Buccaneers’ Week Five game will mark the first start for Melifonwu, who will anchor a secondary already navigating the absence of its most experienced safety.