# Antoine Winfield Jr

NFL player. Position: **S (Safety)**. Team: **TB (Tampa Bay Buccaneers)**.

## Quick Facts

- **Position:** Safety
- **Team:** TB (Tampa Bay Buccaneers)
- **College:** University of Minnesota (Gophers)
- **NFL Draft:** 2020 Round 2, 45th overall pick (Buccaneers)
- **Career honors:** 2x Pro Bowl (2022, 2023), 1x First-Team All-Pro (2023)

## 2026 Outlook

**Oct 19 — Trade deadline target for Vikings:** Minnesota is actively exploring trading for Winfield Jr to address long-term safety succession, with Harrison Smith in his final season at age 37. Sports analyst Alec Lewis reported the Vikings view Winfield as a potential "swing" at the Nov. 10 trade deadline. Winfield signed a 4-year, $84.1M extension with Tampa in May 2024 ($45M fully guaranteed, already paid out), with 2026-2027 marked as non-guaranteed, making him tradeable without major cap hits. The Buccaneers (1-5) may be sellers and would retain roughly half his remaining salary, making the financials work for Minnesota despite tight cap space ($6.08M available). Historical safety trades (Kevin Byard, Kyle Dugger) have cost 5th-6th round picks plus potential salary relief. (per Vikings Should Absolutely Target MN Gophers Legend at Trade Deadline - Yahoo Sports)

**Career retrospective:** Winfield was the 45th overall pick in 2020 by Tampa Bay after a standout Minnesota Gophers career, where he was named unanimous All-American in 2019 (just the 7th in school history) and Big Ten Defensive Back of the Year. Minnesota notably passed on him multiple times in the 2020 draft before he went to Tampa. He has accumulated 561 career tackles, 18 sacks, 9 interceptions, and 12 forced fumbles in 89 NFL starts. Helped the Buccaneers win Super Bowl LV in his rookie year. Made back-to-back Pro Bowls in 2022-2023 and earned first-team All-Pro honors in 2023, establishing himself as one of the league's elite safeties.

**2026 performance concerns:** Through four games this season with Tampa, Winfield has recorded just 24 tackles with zero forced fumbles, zero interceptions, zero passes defended, and zero sacks—a down year by his standards. Suffered a fractured rib in Week 4 vs. Green Bay and has missed games since, causing some scouts to question his durability. (per Vikings Should Absolutely Target MN Gophers Legend at Trade Deadline - Yahoo Sports)

## Role / Depth Chart

Elite safety responsible for communication on the back end. In Minnesota's system under Brian Flores, would potentially pair with Josh Metellus (under contract through 2028 after recent extension) as a long-term secondary anchor.

## Recent News

- 2026-10-19 — Listed as trade target for Minnesota Vikings ahead of November deadline, potential return home after college at U of Minnesota (Vikings Should Absolutely Target MN Gophers Legend at Trade Deadline - Yahoo Sports)

## Open Questions

- Will the Buccaneers actually trade Winfield Jr if they continue struggling?
- Can Winfield Jr recover from his rib fracture and return to All-Pro form?
- Would a trade reunite him with the Vikings organization?

---
Source: https://chatffb.com/players/antoine-winfield-jr · ChatFFB — fantasy football answers updated from a live news wiki.