Nick Rapone: The Real Antoine Winfield Will Be Back
May 14th, 2025
Bucs safeties coach Nick Rapone.
Nick Rapone wanted all the doubters to understand him: Antoine Winfield will be back for the Bucs this fall.
That’s the Antoine Winfield who gave Bucs fans flashbacks to Rondé Barber. That’s the Antoine Winfield who changed games with his play. That’s the Antoine Winfield, All-Pro.
What we all saw last year was not that Winfield.
In fact, Joe cannot remember one play Winfield made after he was robbed of a forced fumble on an Atlanta touchdown in The Licht House because either FOX or the NFL, two entities worth some $30 billion combined, was too cheap to put a replay camera on the goal line that every two-bit college game has.
Disgraceful!
(And that led to a Bucs loss, too.)
Winfield was hurt late in the blowout win over the Commandos on Opening Weekend. He suffered other injuries and, man, it was hard to believe the same guy had been an All-Pro.
Talk about a lost season.
In the offseason, Joe could see in the comments on this here website that folks began muttering Winfield got paid and as a result, he shut it down. Joe found that virtually impossible to believe, given how Winfield is a stand-up guy.
In his media availability yesterday at One Buc Palace, safeties coach Nick Rapone was darn firm that the real Winfield will be play this year. Joe could decipher between Rapone’s words as if he was cautioning folks, don’t even think Winfield was just about getting paid.
Rapone said Winfield was badly hampered by injuries and that is why his play dipped significantly.
And that’s the only reason.
“I think if he’s not injured, you see Antoine Winfield,” Rapone said. “Look at his body at work. I think you’ll see in his [normal] body at work. That’s all.
“Oh, [the injuries] impacted him a lot. Impacted him a lot. He only played eight games.
“So, if he’s healthy, then I think you see the body of work you’re used to seeing.”
In other words, Bucs fans should expect to see the real Antoine Winfield return.
Joe can’t help but think that Winfield’s nosedive really impacted the fifth-worst pass defense in the league. The middle of the Bucs defense on the second- and third-levels was awful against the pass.
Jordan Whitehead was not the same guy the Bucs thought they re-signed. And Whitehead even got hurt.
Safety play for the Bucs was poor. So Winfield being healthy and being that-guy again, well, that’s like signing an All-Pro in free agency.
May 14th, 2025 at 7:13 am
“Winfield was hurt late in the blowout win over the Commandos on Opening Weekend.” If I remember correctly, Winfield was on the kick off return team when he got hurt. Dumb, no?
May 14th, 2025 at 7:26 am
He’ll have to get healthy and stay healthy.
May 14th, 2025 at 7:41 am
127 passer rating allowed. 1pass breakup and 0 picks. He stunk in coverage last year but was fine in the run game.
May 14th, 2025 at 7:46 am
Hopefully Rapone is right. Then again, he was excited about getting Whitehead back too.
May 14th, 2025 at 7:56 am
And why exactly is 69-year-old Rapone still coaching our OUTSTANDING DBs? If our DBs flop again given new blood, we probably know it may not be the players. It may be how they are coached up/scheme. Look at Detroit’s D with all of their injuries last year. They didn’t miss a beat sans the Deadskins game.
May 14th, 2025 at 8:05 am
Am I reading something into Rapone’s comments. “If he’s not injured” – is he implying “had he not been injured last year”? I hope that’s what he means, as opposed to “if he’s completely healthy going into this season.” I know it’s just semantics, but he keeps saying “if he’s not injured”. Hopefully, there are no lingering injuries.
May 14th, 2025 at 8:15 am
If he’s healthy then he will be back to the Winfield we know.
May 14th, 2025 at 8:20 am
He said it straight out, healthy Winfield is the one we’re used to seeing. How stupid does one have to be to figure out injuries don’t impact world class athletes who are facing other world class athletes?
May 14th, 2025 at 8:22 am
Antoine Winfield was fully healthy in 2023 and pass defense was awful as well. It’s why it was crazy to pay him what they did after one career year. I like him as a player but the safety position overall just isn’t a spot I’d allocate an insane amount of resources to
May 14th, 2025 at 8:27 am
If true, best news of this whole Offseason! Go Bucs!
May 14th, 2025 at 8:35 am
“comments on this website….folks began muttering….”
That’s a lot of words to say “trolls”.
May 14th, 2025 at 9:29 am
Let’s hope it’s the injuries and not something else….like incorrect coaching causing Dean, Winfield, Whitehead, Izien, and Smith to all regress before our eyes.
Just wondering out loud what a full time DC not distracted by having an entire other full time job to do (as his own boss) might result in.
May 14th, 2025 at 9:37 am
Lt. Dan
Right? It was a blowout win. NO starters should have been in the game from halfway through the fourth quarter..
May 14th, 2025 at 9:46 am
Leave to people on here they gonna say he is washed up smh
May 14th, 2025 at 9:48 am
Healthy Winfield. Two upgrades. Serious upgrades at CB. Tykee Smith moving to S. And improved pass rush.
This is now a Top 5 Defense.
May 14th, 2025 at 10:43 am
Lt. Dan.
That was only his first injury. A 2nd one happening on a Friday walk through. He banged knees with another player. Comparing the two the latter wins the dumb award.
May 14th, 2025 at 11:58 am
I didn’t thinl Winfield was going Devin Whiteish on the team but I am worried the smaller safeties body has taken a toll on hits and it is wearing down like the Colts Bob Sanders body did who was close to the same size as Winfield. I really hope my fears aren;t warrented.
May 14th, 2025 at 12:28 pm
1st press conference I’ve seen Rapone in….. Love that guy
Was surprised to hear that the safeties and CBs don’t normally meet together but are doing so this year (they also did so last SB year). Seems like a no brainer to me.