The injury bug has hit the Bucs hard as of late and one of the most crucial injuries is the thumb injury to Bucs’ quarterback Jameis Winston. Winston suffered a small fracture at the end of the first half of the Bucs’ 38-35 win over the Colts on Sunday, which forced him to miss the first offensive series of the second half before coming back into the game.

Wednesday was the first time Winston and the Bucs practiced this week, and while Winston was at practice with his teammates, he did not grip or throw any footballs during practice during the 30 minute media viewing period. 

Following practice, Bruce Arians spoke with the media and did not give a specific time frame for when Winston would begin throwing this week.

Arians stated that they’ll see how it looks as the week goes along, but did say he won’t play Winston unless he takes reps at some point this week.

“Oh definitely,” Arians said. “He’ll throw before we get there.”

When asked if he expects Winston to play, Arians confirmed that this was his intention

“That’s the plan,” Arians said.

Winston may not have thrown any passes at practice but he was still taking mental reps. And Arians felt that having one day without a little wear and tear on Winston’s body this late in the season wasn’t such a bad thing. 

“I think sometimes it’s good to get your arm rest, but not your brain,” Arians said. “He’s out there taking a drop on every play, telling me what the coverage was, where the ball should have gone, so he got a good mental practice today and it might help him physically.”