Leaving a Legacy, And Setting The Standard….

[Fletch59]

Antoine Winfield Jr. was drafted 45th by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the 2020 NFL Draft. In college, he was a very successful DB in Minnesota, earning the Tatum-Woodson Defensive Back of the Year award in 2019 as well as All-Big10 first team and Unanimous All-American. In the 2019 season, Winfield leveled up his game by increasing his stat line tremendously. He had 58 solo tackles, only 6 short of his total in his previous 3 years combined, accumulating 3 sacks, 7 ints, and 2 forced fumbles.  Entering his rookie year, the Bucs had high hopes considering his pedigree. He was welcomed to the NFL when the Bucs hosted the Chiefs, and Tyreek Hill and Patrick Mahomes had an explosive 1st quarter where they linked up for 2 TDs, totaling 119 yards between the two passes. As we all know, Winfield and the Bucs got the last laugh literally and metaphorically when, while scoring an early TD in that game, Tyreek threw up the deuces, passing Winfield on his way to a TD. Later in the Super Bowl, where fate had it, these same two teams would play for the League’s Championship in Super Bowl LX, when late in the fourth, up 31-9, the Bucs Winfield got a penalty for taunting after he deflected a pass from Mahomes to Hill and then throwing up the Deuces sign, all but sealing the victory for the rookie and the rest of the Buccaneers organization. In 2023, Winfield once again increased his production by a large number, setting career-high numbers across his stat line, including a combined tackles 122, proving he was always around the ball. He also had 6 sacks, and 12 pass deflections, it’s with 3, and 4 fumble recoveries, and is tied for the League lead in forced fumbles. The only thing this man did not do last year, nor his entire career, is to reach the end zone and score a TD.  Coming into the offseason, the Bucs looked to try to keep most of the veteran free agents back to the fold where seemingly the continued recipe for success in the NFL comes from consistency, and the Bucs did just that, resigning players like Evans, David, Mayfield, and a few more also adding key-pieces like returning Buc Jordan Whitehead and signing edge threat Randy Gregory. The next focus for the Bucs was to try to get Winfield and LT Tristan Wirfs locked into long-term extensions, shoring up the future of the Bucs for the next few years. Today, Winfield Jr seemed to bring himself and his career full circle, cementing his legacy and stepping out of the showdown of his dad becoming arguably the best Safety in the League. The Bucs supported that today by agreeing to a 4 yr extension worth $84.1 million and $45 million guaranteed, making him not only the highest-paid Safety in NFL history but the highest-paid DB in the history of the League and the first Safety in the modern era to set that standard, so what the fans of The Buccaneers have to look forward to is unknown. I think we can all agree that in the secondary, Antoine Winfield Jr will be a continuous cornerstone for this defense and will battle year in and year out to maintain a level of dominance that The Crue has become used to.  Winfield Jr has not only cemented his legacy but has set a standard that cornerbacks don’t have to be the best players in the secondary.  The future looks bright for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Winfield Jr. You can Derek on Facebook all the time HERE     The post Leaving a Legacy, And Setting The Standard…. appeared first on Bucs Life.

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