Injured QB Winston will start at Buffalo

TAMPA — Tampa Bay's Jameis Winston tested his injured throwing shoulder in practice this week and will start Sunday's game against the Buffalo Bills.

Buccaneers coach Dirk Koetter made the announcement Friday after the third-year quarterback worked with the first-team offense for the first time since spraining his right shoulder during last week's 38-33 loss at Arizona.

Winston was limited in practice Wednesday and Thursday, taking “mental reps” while backup Ryan Fitzpatrick prepared to face the Bills.

“Jameis threw the ball well today,” Koetter said following the team's hour-long practice at One Buccaneer Place. “Jameis is our starter. He will be out there.”

Winston has made 37 consecutive starts after entering the NFL as the No. 1 overall pick in the 2015 draft.

Fitzpatrick, a 13-year veteran with 116 career starts for six other teams, replaced him against the Cardinals and threw for 290 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions to help the Bucs (2-3) rally from a 31-0 deficit.

Winston said Thursday there have been other occasions during “my whole football career” when he's played through AC joint injuries, “so I'm used to the pain.”

He declined to elaborate or compare the latest injury to the others.

“Every one is different. I can't tell you about my injuries eight years ago,” Winston said. “I can just tell you about this one.”

Winston also said he wasn't concerned about a lack of practice time potentially impacting his preparation for the Bills.

“Like I've said, this game [has] such a mental part. I've been throwing the football practically my whole life, so I know I can throw,” Winston said. “I just think that it's about recovery right now.

“It's about being consistent in my reads and progressions. That's the most important thing.”

Winston had some lofty praise for the Bills' defense.

“They are aggressive,” he told reporters.

“I call them head-busters. They swarm around the ball. They are trying to knock you out. That's fun when you see a team that has that. I don't know if they have a chip on their shoulder because they have some pretty impressive wins, but it's fun to see a team that plays the game like that — all out.”

Bills coach Sean McDermott said earlier on Friday that his team was “preparing for either” Winston or Fitzpatrick, although his defensive players made it clear that they fully expected Winston to get the start.

“We'll be ready,” McDermott said. “I'm confident we'll be ready. We've had a good week of practice. We've got to stay focused on what we can control, but also be ready for either one of them.”

The Bills listed wide receiver Jordan Matthews (thumb) and cornerbacks E.J. Gaines (groin) and Leonard Johnson (hamstring) as questionable for Sunday while tight end Charles Clay (knee) and linebacker Ramon Humber (thumb) are listed as out.

Matthews politely declined to speak with reporters after Friday's practice, for which he was listed as a full participant. McDermott said before the workout that Matthews was “still day-today right now.”