Bucs safety Antoine Winfield Jr. out 2-4 weeks with rib fracture

The winless Bucs will face the NFL’s No. 2 scoring offense this week without one of their biggest stars on defense.

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Safety Antoine Winfield Jr. will miss 2-4 weeks with a rib fracture suffered in Sunday’s 17-14 loss to the Packers, coach Todd Bowles said Monday.

The Bucs travel to Dallas Thursday to play the Cowboys, who are averaging 30.5 points per game.

The Bucs already are without quarterback Baker Mayfield, who is expected to miss at least two more games with a dislocated right thumb.

Bowles said Winfield will be replaced at safety in the starting lineup by Ifeatu Melifonwu, who was promoted from the practice squad to the active roster on Tuesday.

A third-round pick out of Syracuse by the Lions in 2021, Melifonwu also played one season with the Dolphins last year.

The Bucs lost a little depth at defensive back Monday when the Steelers signed Sean Murphy-Bunting from the practice squad. He gives Pittsburgh an experienced defensive back after it traded Joey Porter Jr. last week to the Cowboys.

Jamel Dean, Murphy-Bunting’s teammate with the Bucs, sustained an ankle injury in the Steelers’ Week 4 loss to Cleveland that could force him to miss time.

Undrafted rookie free-agent quarterback Jalon Daniels will make his second start for the Bucs in four days. On Sunday, Daniels struggled to complete 19 of 27 passes for 148 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions. He also rushed eight times for 55 yards.

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Bowles said he is hopeful that Daniels will play better in his second straight start.

“Obviously, first time rookie playing, you’re going to have some ups and downs,” the coach said. “He read some things very well. He made some good throws. He made some mistakes that he can get better with, and we understand that. That comes with it. He understands that as well. We look for him to be a little better this Thursday.”

The Bucs defense played well enough to win Sunday, forcing two turnovers in Tampa Bay territory in the fourth quarter. Safety Tykee Smith forced a fumble that was recovered by cornerback Zyon McCollum, and Jacob Parrish intercepted a pass from Packers quarterback Jordan Love.

“It was great, but not good enough,” defensive tackle A’Shawn Robinson said. “So, it’s just us. Keep stacking them and doing what we can to be better and focus on what we can do now. The first quarter (of the season) is over. Yesterday is yesterday. Now in the second quarter, we’re not worried about that now. We want to do what we can do to be better and start the second quarter the right way.”

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This story was originally published October 5, 2026 at 4:38 PM.