Antoine Winfield Jr.: Amazing everything came to fruition as I envisioned it
Buccaneers safety Antoine Winfield Jr. came into the offseason with the goal of becoming the highest-paid player at his position, but he set his sights a little too low.
Winfield got a franchise tag in March and then moved into negotiations with the Bucs on a long-term deal that came together earlier this month. The four-year, $84.1 million deal set a new standard for safeties, but it also makes Winfield the best-paid defensive back at any position as he moves into the 2024 season.
On Monday, Winfield said "my agent called, and when he went over the details, I was like, ‘Wow'" and reflected on how it felt to realize such a lofty goal.
“Every year, I just want to be better than I was the year before,” Winfield said, via Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times. “That’s my goal, and to make that happen, for everything to come to fruition as I envisioned it, is an amazing feeling. . . . I still can’t believe I accomplished that feat, but I’ve still got more in me.”
Winfield stuffed the stat sheet with 122 tackles, 12 passes defensed, eight quarterback hits, six sacks, six forced fumbles, four fumble recoveries, and three interceptions during the 2023 season, so the bar to be even better is a high one. The size of the deal the Bucs gave him suggests the team thinks he can at least maintain that level of productivity in 2024 and beyond.
