» 49ERS TO FACE WINSTON-LED BUCS
SANTA CLARA — Jameis Winston will get another shot at resurrecting his career as Tampa Bay’s starting quarterback, and the 49ers aren’t sure what to expect from him Sunday when they visit the Buccaneers.
“I have watched film. I’ve seen Jameis threw four (interceptions) one game,” 49ers safety Jimmie Ward said Monday. “But I’ve seen him have good games, too, where he throw three or four touchdowns. It depends who we get on Sunday.”
It will be Winston’s fourth start this season and first since Oct. 28, when he had four passes intercepted in a loss at Cincinnati. He produced four touchdown drives in the Bucs 38-35 loss at the New York Giants on Sunday upon relieving Ryan Fitzpatrick.
The 49ers (2-8) are coming off their bye and looking to hand the Bucs (3-7) their fifth straight loss.
Winston, the 2015 draft’s No. 1 pick, has had his 2019 option exercised by the Bucs, who are on the hook for his $20.9 million salary if he gets hurt in these remaining games.
He was suspended this season’s first three games, then excelled in Week 4 relief and went 1-2 as the starter before ceding the role back to Fitzpatrick. Winston is 19-29 all-time as the Bucs starter, and he’s lost 12 of his past 16 starts. During the Bucs’ march to a 9-7 record in 2016, he passed for three touchdowns in a 34-17, come-from-behind win over the host 49ers and then-quarterback Colin Kaepernick.
Reflection mode — Coach Kyle Shanahan requested his players spend the bye mulling over what they want out of these final six games and their impending futures. “He knows where we’re going, and the way he put it, he wants to see who’s coming with us,” fullback Kyle Juszczyk said. “We’re trying to find the right guys who are going to continue on this path with us.”
Juszczyk said it’s not a matter of guys “buying in” as much as it is actually producing positive results, and the 49ers are hoping to repeat last season’s late success. And although they closed 2018 on a five-game win streak, that vibe didn’t carry over to this season.
Added Juszczyk: “Things did feel different at the end of last season. There was a swagger about this team. Everybody had confidence. Things were clicking. We didn’t come back that way. It’s hard to put a finger on what exactly made it that way, but we all had a chance over the bye to look into the mirror and decide how we want to finish this season.”
Receivers absent — Wide receivers Marquise Goodwin and Pierre Garçon were notably absent Monday as the 49ers returned from their bye and began practicing for Sunday’s game at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Goodwin, who turned 28 on Monday, was excused for personal reasons rather than an injury issue, according to a team source. Goodwin twice appeared to sustain a head injury last game, but he was cleared both during that loss to the New York Giants and again the next day.
Garçon hasn’t played in two of the past three games, and he spent the bye weekend in Florida. Kendrick Bourne, who’s filled in for Garçon at flanker, appeared limited in warmups. An official injury report won’t be distributed until Wednesday.
Garcon’s 24 receptions are the most among the wide-receiver corps while tight end George Kittle has picked up the slack with 50 catches (25th-most in NFL). Bourne has set career highs with 23 receptions and three touchdowns. No other 49ers receiver has more than 20 receptions, including Trent Taylor (19 for 150 yards, 1 TD), Goodwin (17 for 339 yards, 3 TDs) and Dante Pettis (7 for 108 yards, 1 TD).