Buccaneers' Jameis Winston: Credited with overcoming barrage of WR injuries

In the eyes of offensive coordinator Todd Monken, Winston's confidence and work ethic has helped carry the offense through the Bucs' recent barrage of receiver injuries, Jenna Laine of ESPN.com reports. "That confidence gets developed every day after practice, every day that gets developed," Monken said. "A lot of those guys that were in the game had run routes with Jameis before and had a pretty good rapport, because they've put in the time and Jameis is out there leading that. ... He spreads the ball around as good as I've been around."

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Monken was specifically commenting on Winston's stellar effort against the Chargers in Week 13 after losing both Cecil Shorts (knee) and Adam Humphries (concussion) in the first half, but his assessment is fitting for the second-year signal caller's overall body of work this season. Factoring in the since-released Louis Murphy, who never got on the field this season after an October 2015 ACL tear, Winston has seen a total of five pass catchers either exit the roster or miss time in 2016, with two of them -- Vincent Jackson and Shorts -- out for the season. However, the 2015 first-round pick's willingness to put in extra reps with all of the receivers on the roster has paid off. His rapprt with his receivers most recently manifested itself against the Chargers, when former practice squad wideout Freddie Martino seamlessly stepped in after Shorts and Humphries were sidelined and hauled in four receptions for 56 yards. Similarly, Winston has put in extra time this week with the just-promoted Josh Huff, who is expected to be active for the first time in a Bucs uniform in what could be a high-scoring affair against the Saints this coming Sunday. Winston's ability to consistently spread the ball around has also led to a career season for tight end Cameron Brate, who has become a legitimate red-zone threat and helped the offense become somewhat less dependent on No. 1 receiver Mike Evans.