The Bucs have yet to play a single snap with their entire starting secondary intact this season. Could that sad streak come to an end on Sunday? Bucs head coach Bruce Arians expressed some optimism on Bucs Total Access, saying he “hoped” to have Antoine Winfield Jr. and Jamel Dean back from injury this week.

During Wednesday’s practice, Arians got half his wish. Dean, who dealt with an illness that caused him to miss Week 15, returned to practice. But Winfield did not practice as he deals with a foot injury. When asked about Winfield’s availability for Sunday, Arians was non-committal.

“I do not know about Antoine,” Arians said. “We’ll see what he can do Thursday and Friday. His foot is still sore.”

Bucs CB Jamel Dean – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Dean’s case is much more curious. After suffering a concussion in Week 13 against the Falcons, Dean cleared protocol to face the Bills the next week. But the third-year cornerback didn’t last long, bowing out with an illness in the first half. Afterwards, Arians said he got “foggy”. Dean missed the Bucs’ Week 15 game against the Saints as the team tried to identify the issue.

“Dean, no,” Arians said when asked if the team had discovered the issue. “He’s fine now, so it cleared up. It might have been residual from the concussion. But we never really could put that together.”

Dean will likely start on the outside across from Carlton Davis against the Panthers. Sean Murphy-Bunting will play in the slot, with some combination of Richard Sherman, Ross Cockrell and Pierre Desir as backups. Sherman also returned to practice on Wednesday. Safety Mike Edwards will also be available as he returned from suspension too.