Saints' Jameis Winston playing Week 2 matchup vs. Buccaneers with four fractures in back, per report

Winston was limited through the week of practice

Jameis Winston is active and will be under center for the Saints when they take on the Buccaneers in the home opener in Week 2, but he'll hardly be 100%. The veteran quarterback is dealing with four fractures in his back, according to Jay Glazer. The report notes that Winston is not at risk of further damaging his back, which is why he's suiting up on Sunday. That said, Winston is dealing with a lot of pain and the team did give him four different pads to choose from for this matchup to try and protect him. 

Winston was limited throughout the week of practice with that back injury and was initially listed as questionable on Friday, but has since been listed as active on Sunday morning. 

The former No. 1 overall pick made his return to the field in Week 1 after missing the back half of the 2021 season due to a torn ACL. Before going down with that injury a year ago, he had New Orleans at 5-2 to begin the season. This year, he continued to keep the Saints in the win column, rallying to defeat the Falcons in Week 1. In that win, Winston completed 23 of 34 for 269 yards and two touchdowns. A bulk of that production came in the fourth quarter when the team erased a 16-point deficit. 

Not only is Winston banged up, but so is star running back Alvin Kamara, who is inactive for Week 2 due to a rib injury. Meanwhile, the Buccaneers are also limping into this divisional matchup and will not have the likes of Chris Godwin and Julio Jones. 

New Orleans has dominated Tampa Bay over the last two years, owning a 4-0 regular-season record against the Buccaneers since Tom Brady arrived in Tampa. For them to move to 5-0, it sounds like Winston will need to gut through some serious pain.