Bucs Safety Antoine Winfield Jr. Speaks About Matchup Against Vikings Star Justin Jefferson

Tampa Bay Buccaneers safety Antoine Winfield Jr. grew up watching the Minnesota Vikings, and now he'll get to play his first NFL contest against their star receiver Justin Jefferson.

For Tampa Bay Buccaneers safety Antoine Winfield Jr. getting drafted in the 2020 NFL Draft was special and the culmination of a lifelong dream.

As big an impact as the adult Winfield made when arriving on the Buccaneers roster, and as much as he enjoyed winning a Super Bowl that same season, the kid in him grew up wanting to be a part of the Minnesota Vikings, the team he'll face Week 1 of this season.

"I grew up a Vikings fan, watching my dad play," Winfield said. "So it is going to be special going up there."

Winfield Sr. played 14 years in the NFL splitting time between the Buffalo Bills and Minnesota Vikings.

Both teams are on the Bucs schedule, and both are road opportunities for the son to go back to where the father played his NFL ball.

As special as it is, Winfield isn't looking for nostalgia to get in the way of winning.

He'll get plenty of adversarial energy from Vikings receiver Justin Jefferson in Week 1, and Bills star Stefon Diggs when the time comes for him and his Tampa Bay teammates to head to Buffalo.

"You have to know where he is at all times," Winfield said of Jefferson. "He's that guy, so we have to make sure we can contain him as much as possible."

Containing him is ideal, but getting him off the field is the ultimate objective, and picking off Minnesota quarterback Kirk Cousins is the most likely way Winfield can contribute to that effort while getting the Buccaneers defense set out on their takeaway goal for the season.

"Thirty takeaways is our goal every year," Winfield says. "It's great that I am still able to play with Carlton [Davis] and [Jamel] Dean. Those are the guys I came in with, and we have years together. It's going to be an awesome year for all of us."

That year begins with Game 1, and with Winfield returning to the practice field on Monday the chances he will be there for it just went up exponentially.

In fact, the fourth-year safety said he's feeling good and ready to go.

Music to the ears of Bucs fans everywhere.

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