The Buccaneers have held quarterback Jameis Winston out of practice the last two Wednesdays due to the right shoulder injury he suffered in their Week Six loss to the Cardinals, but they’re trying a different approach this week.
Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times reports that Winston will take part in the team’s first practice of this week. Winston also skipped Thursday practices the last two weeks before working on Fridays, but Stroud reports the team felt his timing was off against the Panthers last Sunday and that he’d benefit from throwing more leading into this weekend’s matchup with the Saints.
The shift in practice work suggests that the Buccaneers aren’t worried about Winston aggravating his shoulder injury in the days leading up to the game. Coach Dirk Koetter said after their Week Seven loss to Buffalo that Winston aggravated the injury during the game and it was enough of a concern against Carolina that Koetter said he thought about pulling the quarterback after a hit to the shoulder, but any talk of sitting him down appears to have been nothing more than that.
Winston had a strong game against the Bills, but was 21-of-38 with two interceptions in the loss to Carolina.