Bucs FS Antwon Winfield Jr. – Photo courtesy of Tampa Bay Buccaneers
When Antwon Winfield Jr. blitzes from the slot and sacks the quarterback, it’s a very familiar sight, isn’t it? The 5-foot-9 defensive back dressed in red, pewter and white. Avoid blocks and approach the QB with dignity.
Does that remind you of someone?
Perhaps Bucks legend and recent Hall of Famer Ronde Barber?
Winfield recorded his 10th career sack on Sunday, setting the record for most sacks by a safety in Tampa Bay franchise history. Barber, of course, holds the all-time record for sacks by a defensive back with 27 as part of his Hall of Fame resume.
Winfield not only had a sack on Kirk Cousins in Tampa Bay’s game against Minnesota in Week 1, but he also forced and recovered a fumble on the play.Barber broke down Winfield’s big play in film session video buccaneers.com.
“There’s nothing like a free runner for a quarterback, but once you get there, there’s nothing like a sack, a sack fumble, and a sack fumble with a recovery,” Barber said in the Buccaneers video. “He gets the trifecta here – number 31.”
Antoine Winfield Jr. paid tribute to Ronde Barber on Sunday.
After Antoine Winfield Jr.’s big sack that led to a first-quarter field goal and the Bucs’ first points of the day, he gave a thumbs up and pointed to Winfield’s nameplate on the back of his jersey. It’s the same as Ronde, but it was done by a barber. Winfield told The Pewter Report last week that it was indeed a tribute to Barber.
Bucs S. Antwon Winfield Jr. and OLB Joe Tryon Soyinka – Photo courtesy of USA Today
“Yeah, it was,” Winfield said. It was a tribute to both. ”
Winfield played collegiately at the University of Minnesota, and his father, Antwon Winfield Sr., was a Pro Bowl cornerback for the Vikings from 2004 to 2012 and was named one of the top 50 players in Vikings history.
Winfield Jr. grew up watching his father’s highlights, but since being drafted by the Bucks in the second round in 2020, he’s also started watching Barber’s legendary film.
“Yeah, I’ve been watching his highlights and watching him play since I’ve been here,” Winfield said. “Man, Rondo was a dude. Just watching him move around and get around blocks and get sacks and get all those interceptions makes you want to incorporate that into your game.”
Avoiding blocks is the name of the game for attacking defensive backs.Who is Winfield? With his contract year approaching, re-signing him is a top priority for the Bucks. Barber has the same knack for making blockbacks miss.
“Basically, the idea is that you can’t be blocked,” Barber told Pewter Report. “He approaches blockers like they’re not there. Obviously they’re planning a lot of opportunities for him as well. Just a great player with plenty of quickness in short spaces. He’s a strong player.”
Antwon Winfield Jr. is a takeout machine
Bucks S. Antwan Winfield Jr. – Photo courtesy of USA Today
Antoine Winfield Jr. enjoys creating lessons. Half of Winfield’s 10 sacks were due to fumbles. Five of his six forced fumbles came when he sacked the quarterback, and he also recorded five fumble recoveries and four interceptions in his first three years in the NFL. There is.
Winfield’s first sack-fumble occurred on his first NFL sack against Teddy Bridgewater during his 2020 rookie season. Later that year, his second sack also resulted in a fumble on Cousins, who has now given up the ball twice in sacks of Winfield.
“He’s a wrecking ball for football players,” Rondo Barber said in the Buccaneers’ film study video. “He reminds me of me, except he’s bigger and maybe a little more talented.”
One of Winfield’s five sack fumbles also came in a 38-3 win over Chicago quarterback Justin Fields in 2021. Fields will likely join Cousins as the second quarterback to fall victim to Winfield’s two sack fumbles when the Bears travel to Tampa Bay. to play against the Bucks on Sunday.
“You’re not going to get a better player as a cover player, as a blitzer, as an open field tackler and as a ball hawk.” Todd Bowles told WFLA’s Dan Lucas. “You won’t find a better player who can play three different positions: nickel, both safety spots, emergency corner if needed, and in the box. So ‘win’ – he’s with us. When we do, we become a better team.”
