Winston might play in Bucs' next game

Oct 17, 2017 - 1:37 AM TAMPA, Fla. -- The Tampa Bay Buccaneers got good news on quarterback Jameis Winston.

He is listed as "day-to-day" after an MRI exam revealed a sprained AC joint in his right throwing shoulder, but it showed no structural damage, head coach Dirk Koetter said Monday.

Winston will be limited at practice and is not expected to throw the football much this week, but has not been ruled out as the starter against the Buffalo Bills Sunday.

Winston was injured with just over nine minutes left in the first quarter of the Bucs' 38-33 loss at Arizona Sunday when he was hit by Cardinals linebacker Chandler Jones while attempting to throw a pass that fell incomplete. Winston played two more offensive series, completing three passes, but took himself out of the game because he did not feel he had enough velocity on his throws.

"You guys got to remember, players at almost every position in the league are playing with some level of discomfort every week," Koetter said. "Jameis is as tough as they come. But we'll be able to see at some point how it's affecting his velocity.

"That was the thing yesterday when Jameis said he needed to come out because Jameis loves to play and compete, but he just felt he couldn't drive the ball down the field like he needed to. We'll just have to see how these days, how his recovery and his treatment goes."

Winston has made 37 consecutive starts in his NFL career. Koetter said backup quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick, who passed for 290 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions in helping the Bucs score all 33 points in the second half, would take reps with the first-team offense Wednesday.

Koetter said the Bucs were relieved that the news about Winston's injury wasn't worse.

"Yeah, of course. You don't want anybody to be hurt," Koetter said. "The fact that he's not definitely out, that's obviously good news. You don't want your quarterback to be hurt.

"But Jameis took a shot, he landed right on that thing everybody saw the clip of what happened to Aaron Rodgers. We were hoping for the best and the fact that he hasn't been ruled out is good news."

Rodgers suffered a broken collarbone in a loss to the Minnesota Vikings. He will undergo surgery that might be season-ending.

"I'm sure Jameis won't be doing any throwing on Wednesday and little throwing during the week," Koetter said. "We'll see. We'll see how he feels."

Koetter said the Bucs won't make a decision about whether to start Winston against the Bills until he is able to throw later in the week.

"I think it would only be if Jameis feels like he can't put enough on the ball to get it there on time," Koetter said. "If that's the case, it will be pretty obvious."

Doctors have said Winston cannot do any more harm to his throwing shoulder by playing.

"The way I understand it, he will be cleared medically to play," Koetter said. "I know Jameis can handle a lot of pain. I think it will be, does Jameis feel like he can play at the level he needs to play at. The No. 1 thing in all of this is that Jameis' long-term health has to be the No. 1 thing."

Ryan Griffin, who suffered a more severe injury to the AC joint in his right throwing shoulder in the preseason opener at Cincinnati, is cleared to resume practicing this week and will serve as the scout-team quarterback.

Griffin is ineligible to play for two more weeks as a player on injured reserve, designated for return. The Bucs may still opt to sign another quarterback to back up Fitzpatrick in the event Winston is unable to play Sunday.

--The Bucs now rank 31st in the NFL in pass defense, allowing 301 yards per game in their 2-3 start, and head coach Dirk Koetter was asked Monday how concerned he is with the play of second-year cornerback Vernon Hargreaves.

"Extremely," Koetter said. "I'm concerned with everybody's play after the way we played the first half yesterday, but Vern is not in a very good streak of games right now. We asked Vern to be more aggressive this year with his coverage, and he started out doing that, in OTAs and training camp, but he has not played his best football these last three games."

Veteran cornerback Brent Grimes has played well on one side, getting another interception Sunday, but Hargreaves has struggled, dropping back to give a deeper cushion and allowing teams to throw consistently into his coverage.

"I don't think it's a confidence thing, but I'm not 100 percent sure on that," said Koetter, adding that it wasn't about preparation or ability. "We all have to play better. I have to coach better. I'm not trying to make this a Vernon Hargreaves bashing session. ... If we could just snap our fingers and fix stuff, it'd already be done. You wouldn't be asking me about it."

--Entering Sunday's game with the Bucs, the Arizona Cardinals hadn't scored more than 23 points in any game this season, and hadn't scored more than 18 since their season opener. They would cover that in a hurry against Tampa Bay.

"We cannot, cannot, cannot give people that big of a lead," defensive tackle Gerald McCoy said. "This is the NFL. You can't do it. You can't do it."

In their last four road games, the Bucs have faced deficits of 24-0, 21-7, 20-7 and 17-3.

NOTES: K Patrick Murray did not get to attempt an extra point or a field goal in his Bucs debut on Sunday. The Bucs tried to score a touchdown on fourth-and-goal on the final play of the first half. Then they attempted two-point conversions after every touchdown. ... LB Lavonte David returned to action Sunday after missing two games with an ankle injury and caused a fumble, returning it for a touchdown. ... CB Brent Grimes had his second interception of the season Sunday, stopping a streak of 14 straight completions to start the game by the Cardinals Carson Palmer. ... TE Cameron Brate has had a touchdown reception in four of the Bucs' five games this season.



REPORT CARD VS. CARDINALS

--PASSING OFFENSE: C -- Hard to give the Bucs a good grade here after a slow start. But credit Ryan Fitzpatrick for passing for 290 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions in the second half to put up all 33 points.

--RUSHING OFFENSE: D -- When you fall behind 31-0, it's tough to run the football. The Bucs had only 68 yards rushing on 21 carries Sunday, but Doug Martin did score his second TD in as many games.

--PASS DEFENSE: F -- The Bucs allowed QB Carson Palmer to complete his first 14 passes. Larry Fitzgerald had 10 catches for 138 yards and one touchdown. The Bucs sacked Palmer twice.

--RUSH DEFENSE: F -- The Bucs knew Adrian Peterson was going to try to set the tone and they could not stop him. Peterson rushed for 134 yards and two touchdowns on 26 carries. The Cardinals had 160 yards rushing.

--SPECIAL TEAMS: C -- The Bucs did not attempt an extra point or field goal with new K Patrick Murray. P Bryan Anger did a decent job and Bernard Reedy had one punt return for 10 yards.

--COACHING: F -- At one point, including the 40-7 loss at Arizona last year, the Bucs had been outscored 71-7 by the Cardinals in about six quarters of play.