NFC Notes: Buccaneers, Panthers, Saints, Jameis Winston

Buccaneers

• Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer writes the Buccaneers have received trade calls about their depth at wide receiver. He adds Tampa Bay values the youth it has on the back end of the roster, though, because of age and injuries at the top of the depth chart. 
• Breer mentions Bucs second-round OL Luke Goedeke and OL Robert Hainsey are the frontrunners to start at left guard and center in Week 1. 
• Buccaneers OC Byron Leftwich on Goedeke: “Luke does a lot of things well, a lot of things well that you guys may not see on a play-to-play basis. He’s a rookie, he’s working his tail off. What you like about him, is he’s physical and he’s going to work.” (Auman)
• Leftwich also offered praise for QB Kyle Trask, who he says has made drastic improvements this offseason. (Auman)
• Buccaneers HC Todd Bowles called S Antoine Winfield Jr. one of their better players in coverage and blitz packages: “We think he is very physical down there (in the box), he is one of our better blitzers and he is one of our better cover guys, so we’re just trying him out and getting him some action for different games.” (Mike Giardi)

Panthers

• Panthers HC Matt Rhule said WR Robbie Anderson (hip/quad) is ramping up after missing a week of practice, while WR Andre Roberts is dealing with a bone bruise in his knee. (Joe Person)
• Rhule added that second-year WR Shi Smith is competing for a starting role. (Person)
• Rhule said third-round QB Matt Corral indicated that he’ll likely undergo surgery on his left foot. (Ellis L. Williams)
• Panthers WR Terrace Marshall told reporters he is feeling good after dealing with lingering hamstring issues. (Person)
• Panthers LB Shaq Thompson revealed that he played through pain in 2021 due to “bone on bone” issues in his which required “a little procedure” in the offseason. (Person)

Saints

Saints QB Jameis Winston is back in team drills and feeling good as Week 1 quickly approaches.

“I’m feeling better every single day,” Winston said. “Yesterday, I could run a little bit more and move around a little bit more, because that’s part of my game. So I’m getting better every day.”

Winston added that he was sitting out in order to avoid further injuries or stress on his surgically repaired knee, despite being unbothered by the injury.

“It’s not a major injury,” Winston said. “We don’t want anything else to spring up just from me using one side more. When I’m on the field, I’m not thinking about anything besides executing and leading the Saints to a victory. Injury is not even in my mind.”