The Buccaneers expect to have quarterback Jameis Winston back in the lineup this week.
Buccaneers coach Dirk Koetter said that Winston had an MRI and did rehab work on his right shoulder Monday and that doctors will clear him to return to football activities on Wednesday as long as he doesn’t experience soreness related to his rehab activities. Koetter said Winston would get full reps if he is indeed cleared, which suggests that he’ll be starting in Green Bay next Sunday.
Winston has missed the last three games and parts of two others while dealing with the injury. A report on Sunday indicated that he’d seen improvement in recent days after having platelet rich plasma treatments done in hopes of speeding up his recovery time.
Winston has seen a rise in completion percentage, yards per attempt and quarterback rating from last season, but he’s had a couple of clunkers among his eight starts and the Buccaneers were 2-6 when he was lifted from the lineup to let his shoulder heal. He’s also been dealing with an NFL investigation into groping allegations that seem likely to stretch into the offseason, so there’s been more down that up overall for Winston so far this season.