Saints quarterback Jameis Winston will have to play through a significant amount of pain on Sunday against the Buccaneers after suffering a more severe back injury than previously thought.
According to Jay Glazer of Fox Sports, Winston will play in the NFC South game despite having four fractures in his back. Glazer reports that there’s no risk of furthering the damage and that New Orleans tested out a number of adapted shoulder pads to try and provide the 28-year-old quarterback with additional protection to the area.
“I know you’re probably sitting at home saying ‘How’s this guy gonna play with four fractures?’ I’m told that there’s no risk of further damage. However, he is dealing with an awful lot of pain,” Glazer said on Fox NFL Kickoff Sunday. “The Saints gave him four different pads to choose from to try and pad that area to protect him, but again, Jameis Winston is going to be playing in a lot of pain today.”
Winston sustained the injury to his back during the Saints come-from-behind victory in Week 1 against the Falcons. He was a limited participant in practice all week, but never seemed to be in jeopardy of not playing.
In last Sunday’s season opener, Winston led New Orleans back from a 16-point deficit, throwing two touchdown passes to Michael Thomas in the fourth quarter and driving the Saints into field goal range for a game-winning kick with 19 seconds remaining. He finished the 27–26 victory having completed 23-of-34 passes for 269 yards and the two scores.
A win in Week 2 could prove to be more difficult for New Orleans, as a banged-up Winston will have to find a way to exploit a stacked Tampa Bay defense on Sunday afternoon.
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