Antoine Winfield Jr.

Antoine Duane Winfield Jr. (born August 16, 1998) is an American football free safety for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Minnesota, and was drafted by the Buccaneers in the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft. He is the son of former NFL player Antoine Winfield Sr.

Antoine Winfield Jr.
Winfield with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2021
No. 31 – Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Position:Free safety
Personal information
Born: (1998-08-16) August 16, 1998
Columbus, Ohio
Height:5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Weight:203 lb (92 kg)
Career information
High school:The Woodlands (The Woodlands, Texas)
College:Minnesota
NFL Draft:2020 / Round: 2 / Pick: 45
Career history
Roster status:Active
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics as of 2020
Tackles:94
Sacks:3
Forced fumbles:2
Interceptions:1
Pass deflections:6
Player stats at NFL.com
Player stats at PFR

Early years

Winfield Jr. attended Eden Prairie High School in Eden Prairie, Minnesota for his freshman year before he and his family moved to The Woodlands, Texas and attended The Woodlands High School, where he was a three-year letterer and two-year starting safety, in addition to being the team's kick returner alongside future NFL player Patrick Carr. As a senior, he totaled 87 tackles, five forced fumbles, and one interception, and was named the Montgomery County Player of the Year. [1] Winfield was considered a three-star recruit by 247Sports and ESPN.com and a two-star recruit by Rivals.com, and accepted a scholarship from Minnesota over offers from Baylor, Eastern Michigan, Houston, Lamar, Missouri, South Florida, and Texas State, among others.[2][3]

College career

As a true freshman at Minnesota in 2016, Winfield Jr. played in 12 games and made nine starts. During the season, he had 52 tackles, one interception and one fumble recovered for a touchdown.[4] He played in the first four games in 2017 before suffering an injury that caused him to miss the rest of the season.[5] He finished the season with 20 tackles and a sack. Winfield Jr. again played in only four games in 2018, recording 17 tackles and an interception.[6] He returned from the injuries in 2019 and was named a finalist for the Bronko Nagurski Trophy.[7][8] After being named a first team all American and Big Ten Defensive Back of the Year during the 2019 season, Winfield announced that he would forgo his final 2 years of eligibility and declared for the 2020 NFL Draft.[9]

Professional career
Pre-draft measurables
HeightWeightArm lengthHand size40-yard dashVertical jumpBroad jump
5 ft 9 1⁄8 in
(1.76 m)		 203 lb
(92 kg)		 30 1⁄8 in
(0.77 m)		 9 1⁄2 in
(0.24 m)		4.45 s36.0 in
(0.91 m)		10 ft 4 in
(3.15 m)
All values from NFL Combine[10]

2020 season

Winfield was selected by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with the 45th pick in the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft.[11]

He made his regular season debut in Week 1 during a 34–23 loss to the New Orleans Saints, recording six tackles and a pass deflection. In Week 2, during a 31–17 win against the Carolina Panthers, Winfield recorded 11 total tackles and his first career sack, which resulted in a fumble. Winfield was named the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Month for his performance in September (23 total tackles, two pass deflections, two sacks, and a forced fumble from Weeks 1–3).[12] In Week 7, during a 45–20 win against the Las Vegas Raiders, Winfield recorded two tackles, a pass deflection, and his first career interception.[13] In Week 14 against the Minnesota Vikings, Winfield led the team with 12 tackles and sacked Kirk Cousins once during a 26–14 win.[14] In Week 17 against the Atlanta Falcons, Winfield recorded 7 total tackles, 1 pass deflection, and recovered a fumble in a 44–27 win.

Winfield finished the 2020 regular season with 94 total tackles, 3 sacks, 6 pass deflections, 1 interception, 2 forced fumbles, and 1 fumble recovery.

2020 postseason

In the Wild Card Round of the 2020–21 NFL playoffs against the Washington Football Team, Winfield recorded 6 total tackles in a 31–23 win. In the Divisional Round of the playoffs against the New Orleans Saints, Winfield recorded 6 total tackles as well as forced a fumble on tight end Jared Cook that was recovered by teammate Devin White during the 30–20 win.[15] Winfield injured his ankle during practice in the week leading up to the NFC Championship game against the Green Bay Packers and was forced to miss the game, however the Buccaneers defeated the Packers 31–26 to advance to Super Bowl LV. During the game, Winfield garnered attention after he taunted Tyreek Hill using Hill's signature peace sign celebration, drawing an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.[16] He recorded 6 tackles in the Buccaneers 31–9 victory against the Kansas City Chiefs.[17]

NFL career statistics
Legend
Bold Career high

Regular season
YearTeamGGSTacklesInterceptionsFumbles
CombSoloAstSackSFTYPDefIntYdsAvgLngTDsFFFRYdsTD
2020TB 16169464303.00611616.01602100
Total1616946030306116161602100

Postseason
YearTeamGGSTacklesInterceptionsFumbles
CombSoloAstSackSFTYPDefIntYdsAvgLngTDsFFFRYdsTD
2020TB 2212111000000001000
Total2212111000000001000

Personal life

Winfield's father, Antoine Sr., played in the NFL for 14 seasons with the Buffalo Bills and the Minnesota Vikings. Antoine Jr., was born in Columbus, Ohio while his father attended Ohio State University. His mother Erniece Winfield also attended Ohio State.[18][19]

References
  1. Mashek, Jim (December 26, 2015). "FOOTBALL: The Woodlands' Antoine Winfield, Jr. is The Courier's 2015 Player of the Year". Houston Chronicle.
  2. "Antoine Winfield Jr. commits to Gophers". Star Tribune.
  3. "Winfield Jr 247Sports".
  4. "Gophers freshman safety Antoine Winfield Jr. was 'born for this'". October 6, 2016.
  5. "Gophers' Antoine Winfield Jr. can do it all. And one game, he just might". September 7, 2018.
  6. "Gophers' Antoine Winfield Jr. is healthy, ready to make a difference in the secondary". Star Tribune.
  7. "Unfinished business: After nearly leaving Gophers, Antoine Winfield Jr. stuck around to reap this season's rewards". Star Tribune.
  8. "Gophers safety Antoine Winfield Jr., named a finalist for Bronko Nagurski Trophy". Star Tribune.
  9. Ryan, Megan (January 9, 2020). "Antoine Winfield Jr. declares for NFL draft, leaving Gophers early". Star Tribune. Retrieved January 10, 2020.
  10. "Antoine Winfield Combine Profile". NFL.com. Retrieved March 5, 2020.
  11. Wilson, Aaron (April 24, 2020). "Buccaneers draft The Woodlands grad Antoine Winfield Jr". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved April 24, 2020.
  12. Gordon, Grant (October 1, 2020). "Seahawks QB Russell Wilson, Bills QB Josh Allen among NFL Players of the Month". www.nfl.com. Retrieved October 1, 2020.
  13. "Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Las Vegas Raiders - October 25th, 2020". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2020-10-29.
  14. "Minnesota Vikings at Tampa Bay Buccaneers - December 13th, 2020". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2020-12-18.
  15. "Divisional Round - Tampa Bay Buccaneers at New Orleans Saints - January 17th, 2021". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2021-01-20.
  16. O'Donnell, Ricky (7 February 2021). "Antoine Winfield Jr.'s taunting penalty in Super Bowl LV was actually cool as hell". SBNation.
  17. Patra, Kevin. "What we learned from Buccaneers win over Chiefs in Super Bowl LV". NFL. Retrieved February 7, 2021.
  18. "The Woodlands' Winfield taps famous father for tips". HoustonChronicle.com. September 15, 2015.
  19. "Just like Dad: U's Antoine Winfield Jr. picked up pick-off skills from tapes of father". Star Tribune.
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