The Tampa Bay Buccaneers spent big to keep safety Antoine Winfield Jr. in the fold, making the 25-year-old NFL All-Pro the highest-paid defensive back in the NFL in terms of annual salary with a 4-year, $84 million contract extension on May 13.
With another big season or two, Winfield could make that seem like a bargain for the Buccaneers — something underlined when PFF’s Zoltan Buday put Winfield Jr. at No. 1 on his list of the NFL’s Top 32 safeties headed into the 2024 season.
“Winfield, who became the NFL’s highest-paid defensive back this offseason, was the highest-graded safety in the league last season (90.7),” Buday wrote. “The 25-year-old’s 92.0 PFF overall grade over the past three seasons leads the position, and his run-defense and pass-rush grades rank first among safeties, too.”
Winfield Jr. had the franchise tag placed on him in the offseason, which would have paid him $17.1. million in 2024 before he agreed to his new deal.
Winfield Jr.: Second-Generation NFL Superstar
Winfield Jr. is a second-generation NFL superstar — the son of former NFL All-Pro cornerback and three-time Pro Bowler Antoine Winfield Sr., who played 14 seasons for three teams and had his best years playing for the Minnesota Vikings.
Winfield Jr. was a second-round pick (No. 45 overall) by the Buccaneers in the 2020 NFL Draft — the same year the Buccaneers selected NFL All-Pro offensive tackle Tristan Wirfs in the first round.
Winfield Jr. started all 16 games as a rookie for Tampa Bay in 2020 with 94 tackles, 1 interception and 2 forced fumbles during the regular season.
In the playoffs, he took his game to another level as the Buccaneers won their second Super Bowl in franchise history, with 18 tackles, 1 interception, 1 forced fumble and 2 pass deflections in 3 postseason games.
Winfield Jr. earned his first Pro Bowl honor in 2021 despite missing four games with injury and in 2023 established himself as the NFL’s best safety after he started all 17 games and had career highs for tackles (122), pass deflections (12), interceptions (3) and led the NFL with 6 forced fumbles.
Buccaneers Need to Add More Pieces on Defense
The Buccaneers are solid at inside linebacker — Lavonte David is still there — and at safety with Winfield Jr. They’re also good on the interior defensive line with Pro Bowler Vita Vea and second-year player Calijah Kancey, who looks like he could be a star in the future.
Where they need help is at cornerback and with edge rushers. Winfield Jr.’s 6.0 sacks in 2023 were second on the team behind rookie outside linebacker YaYa Diaby — it almost goes without saying that no team wants their safety to be second on the team in sacks and Tampa Bay has already declined the fifth-year option on the contract of outside linebacker Joe Tryon-Shoyinka, the team’s first-round pick in 2021.
Whatever lift the defense receives this year will likely have to come from within, however, after the Buccaneers went heavy on offense in the 2024 NFL draft — five of the team’s seven picks were on the offensive side of the ball. Only second-round pick and Alabama outside linebacker Chris Braswell is being counted on to crack the two-deep in 2024.