While it was no secret that Bucs quarterback Jameis Winston went through the final month of the 2019 season playing with a fractured thumb on his throwing hand, just how significant the injury might have been is just now being learned.
NFL insider Ian Rapoport reported on Saturday that Winston’s hand is in a full cast, something PewterReport.com was able to confirm as well.
One note on last week: It was clear that #Bucs QB Jameis Winston was playing through a thumb injury on his right hand. Now, he’s in a full cast – an indication of how serious that injury was. And he played. Pretty tough.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 4, 2020
Winston was injured in the first half of the Buccaneers 38-35 win over the Colts in early December. Over the course of the injury, Winston threw nine of his league-leading 30 interceptions, including a four-interception meltdown game versus the Houston Texans on December 21. While some could point to the thumb injury as partly a culprit in the turnover issue late in the year, Winston also managed to set an NFL record for consecutive 450-plus yard games playing with the same fractured thumb.
How much it affected Winston’s ability to throw the ball might not ever be known, but as Rapoport tweeted, it certainly showed toughness from Winston done the stretch.
Mark Cook currently is the director of editorial content and Bucs beat writer and has written for PewterReport.com since 2011. Cook has followed the Buccaneers since 1977 when he first began watching football with his Dad and is fond of the 1979 Bucs team that came within 10 points of going to a Super Bowl. His favorite Bucs game is still the 1979 divisional playoff win 24-17 over the Eagles. In his spare time Cook enjoys playing guitar, fishing, the beach and family time.Cook is a native of Pinecrest in Eastern Hillsborough County and has written for numerous publications including the Tampa Tribune, In the Field and Ya'll Magazine. Cook can be reached at [email protected]
