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TAMPA -- Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Jameis Winston, who has missed three games because of a shoulder injury, probably will get a chance to restart his season in Green Bay on Sunday. Winston underwent an MRI exam on his right throwing shoulder Monday, and barring experiencing soreness from his rehab work with trainers, doctors have cleared him to begin throwing again at practice on Wednesday, head coach Dirk Koetter said.
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"He'll be able to take all the reps if he doesn't have any residual soreness," Koetter said.
The Bucs have gone 2-1 since Winston's absence behind backup quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick, beating the Jets and Dolphins before suffering a 34-20 loss at Atlanta Sunday.
Winston was 2-2 as a starter before he suffered a sprained AC joint in his shoulder in the first half at Arizona in Week 5. He went 0-4 after the injury before doctors decided to shut him down and allow the shoulder to heal.
Winston hasn't thrown a pass since the Bucs' Nov. 5 loss at New Orleans.
Koetter said it's too early to know how Winston may have benefitted from the rest.
"Let's see. I mean, I haven't seen him throw yet and I haven't even talked to Jameis since he had this workout, but we'll see," Koetter said. "Until he's officially cleared, we'll be making the game plan both ways and we'll see what happens come Wednesday."
Winston may have benefited from watching Fitzpatrick play. The 34-year-old veteran protected the football with three touchdown passes and no interceptions during his three starts and did a good job of spreading the football around.
"Ryan did fine," Koetter said following the loss to the Falcons. "He hung in there. Again, he didn't turn the ball over and when you don't turn the ball over in the NFL, you're going to have a chance and we did."
NOTES: T Demar Dotson, who entered Sunday's game with a hamstring injury, suffered a knee injury that forced him to leave the game at Atlanta. But he returned later. ... S T.J. Ward suffered a concussion in Sunday's game and is in the league's protocol. ... RB Doug Martin was forced to leave Sunday's game with a concussion and is in the league's protocol. ... G Kevin Pamphile left Sunday's game at Atlanta briefly with an elbow injury, but returned. ... C Ali Marpet suffered a knee injury in Sunday's game at Atlanta, but was able to return and finish the game.
REPORT CARD VS. FALCONS
--PASSING OFFENSE: B - Ryan Fitzpatrick was bad in the first half, but gave his team a chance to win. He rallied the Bucs from a 27-6 deficit to make it 27-20 with the football on the Falcons 18-yard line. But they were unable to convert on fourth-and-1. Ryan passed for 283 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions.
--RUSHING OFFENSE: C-minus - The Bucs rushed for 94 yards and averaged a more robust 4.1 yards per attempt, but they couldn't sustain much of a ground game. The highlight was two Peyton Barber touchdown runs. RB Doug Martin had a good first quarter before he was forced to leave the game with a concussion.
--PASS DEFENSE: F - Julio Jones is an all-world talent. But his 253 yards receiving were the most by any player in the Bucs' 41-year history. He had two touchdowns, including one thrown by another receiver, Mohamed Sanu. The Bucs went another game without a sack and only hit Matt Ryan three times.
--RUSH DEFENSE: D - The Bucs allowed the Falcons to rush for 148 yards and 5.3 yards per carry. This is without Devonta Freeman. Tampa Bay's defensive line was manhandled all day long.
--SPECIAL TEAMS: B - The Bucs made their two field-goal attempts and Bryan Anger punted well with a 53.3-yard average. But the Bucs allowed an average of 25.8 yards on kickoffs.
--COACHING: F - The Bucs should know how to slow down Julio Jones. They say they tried 14 different coverages on him but nothing worked. Coordinator Mike Smith's defense allows more than 30 points per game on the road.
