Perrion

Winfrey

Winfrey will miss at least the next four games due to the injury. The veteran lineman, who was injured in practice last week, didn’t play in the team’s Week 1 contest against the Eagles due to his injury. He will now have some additional time away to rehab the injury. Winfrey last took a regular-season snap in 2023 and caught on with the Cowboys after a stint in the UFL earlier this spring.

Winfrey, 25, has had a bumpy ride in professional football, playing both in the NFL and UFL. He made it through final cuts, listed as a third-string defensive tackle. The Cowboys, now organizationally committed to stopping the run, need all the help they can get on the defensive line. Hopefully, Winfrey is available in Week 1, even if only for a handful of snaps.

Winfrey was injured while on the field goal block unit in the third quarter. He was called up from the Jets’ practice squad over the weekend after joining the team a month ago. Much of the Jets team took the field while Winfrey was down. He was eventually carted to the locker room and is certainly done for the day.

Winfrey was released by the Browns prior to the season for off-the-field issues. He faced misdemeanor assault chargers in April that were dropped, but the Browns saw fit to let go of him. He now hitches on to the Jets practice squad, where the team hopes to keep him on track to contributing for them.

Winfrey, who was arrested in April for “unlawfully, intentionally, and knowingly causing bodily injury to a woman he was dating,” played in 13 games for Cleveland last season. He recorded half a sack in those 13 outings as a rotational player. Winfrey had the misdemeanor assault charges against him dropped, though the damage appears to have been done. He could land on another roster as a part-time player in 2023.

Winfrey was arrested in April for “unlawfully, intentionally, and knowingly cause bodily injury to “a woman he was dating. The charges against him, however, were dropped following the completion of a “pretrial conversion program according to court documents in Harris County, Texas. Whether or not the NFL opts to levy any punishment of their own on Winfrey remains to be seen, but the legal side of this issue appears to be behind him.

Winfrey was reportedly arrested on Monday for “unlawfully, intentionally and knowingly cause bodily injury to” a woman he was in “a dating relationship” with. Winfrey has already posted a $1,000 bond and has a court date scheduled for next Tuesday. Winfrey appeared in 13 games for the Browns last season, totaling 22 tackles and one TFL.

Winfrey (6’4/290) was a JUCO transfer to Oklahoma in 2020 and put forth two solid seasons for the Sooners. Winfrey received second-team All-Big 12 honors in 2020 after totaling 17 tackles, 5.5 tackles for a loss, and a half-sack and received the same honors again in 2021. In his final season at Oklahoma, Winfrey totaled 23 tackles, 11 tackles for a loss, and 5.5 sacks. He boosted his stock during the Senior Bowl with a solid week of practices that was capped with a two-sack performance in the game. He posted a 4.89 40 at the Combine and has a great body and arm length for a defensive tackle. Winfrey has the ability to bull rush opposing offensive linemen one-on-one and is an aggressive hand fighter who can disengage blockers to get to the ball carrier. A terror in both run and pass defense, he should have a role early in his rookie season that will only grow as he develops.

Winfrey (6'4/292) has the versatility to play any spot on the defensive which helped him make massive strides this season with a career-high 5.5 sacks with 11 tackles for loss. What certainly got him noticed though was his incredible performance during the Senior Bowl, which resulted in being named MVP of the game. Winfrey’s size and play style reminds Butler of Fletcher Cox when he was coming out of Mississippi State. As we know, Cox has developed into one of the best defensive linemen in the game with six Pro Bowls and a future bust in Canton. That’s a lot to live up to for Winfrey, but if he continues to develop the way he has in just two seasons in the FBS, he could have a promising career.

Buffalo signed EDGE Von Miller this offseason, but could still add more defensive studs via the draft. Of this group, Winfrey is the highest touted player, and added to his hype during Senior Bowl week. He has been mocked to the first round by some analysts, and NFL.com’s Daniel Jeremiah ranked him as the 45th best player in this year’s draft. Both Bonitto and Asamoah are projected Day 2 picks.