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CB Antoine Winfield (All B1G, All-American, Thorpe Award, Pro Bowl, All Pro)

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Antoine Winfield eyes Super Bowl with Seahawks
By Chris Wesseling
Around the League Writer
Published: June 12, 2013

Shopping for a new team for the first time in nearly a decade, veteran cornerback Antoine Winfield narrowed his choices to the Minnestoa Vikings and Seattle Seahawks in April. As it turns out, his heart was simply no longer in Minnesota after he was blindsided by his release a month earlier.

The release after nine years with the Vikings "definitely surprised me," Winfield said via The Associated Press. "... It is a business. I understand that. There really is no loyalty in this game."

Head coach Leslie Frazier remained in daily contact as a recruiter throughout March, but Winfield had one foot out the door. "Once I took my nameplate off that locker, it was a wrap," Winfield explained. "It was time to go."

Once he decided to leave Minnesota, Winfield -- who turns 36 later this month -- placed joining a Super Bowl contender atop his list of priorities even if it meant being relegated to a third cornerback role with the Seahawks.

"They have an opportunity to do something that I dream about every night and that's win a championship," Winfield said. "...I don't have too much time left. This is Year 15 for me so I'm trying to get it this year."

If the Seattle doesn't make it to the promised land this season, the blame won't be laid at the feet of the secondary. All four starters have been selected to the Pro Bowl or the All-Pro team in the past two seasons. Still playing at a high level in the slot, Winfield brings a trio of Pro Bowls and second-team All Pros of his own.
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http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap10...ntoine-winfield-eyes-super-bowl-with-seahawks
 
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Once released, Antoine Winfield wasn?t returning to Minnesota
Posted by Curtis Crabtree on June 17, 2013

After nine seasons with the Minnesota Vikings, Antoine Winfield is settling in to his new role as the nickel cornerback for the Seattle Seahawks.

Winfield signed with Seattle this offseason after being released by the Vikings in March. Winfield had been working to rehab his knee after surgery at the Vikings? facility when he was called into general manager Rick Spielman?s office and told he was being let go. However, once the Vikings had his previous contract off the books, Minnesota looked to bring Winfield back on a reduced deal.

But Winfield had already put the Vikings in his rear-view mirror.

?Once I took my nameplate off that locker, it was a wrap,? Winfield said. ?It was time to go.?

Vikings head coach Leslie Frazier pushed hard to get Winfield to return to the Vikings but ultimately couldn?t sway him from joining the Seahawks.

The deal he accepted from Seattle was ultimately for less guaranteed money than the Vikings were offering as well. Per a source with knowledge of the deals, the Vikings were offering a fully guaranteed one-year, $3 million contract. The deal from Seattle is only for $2 million for just $1 million fully guaranteed. It can ultimately reach a total value of $3 million if Winfield meets thresholds for playing time and interceptions.

Winfield said the chance to chase a Super Bowl with the Seahawks was the biggest factor in why he wanted to accept less money and a non-starting role with Seattle. Despite making the playoffs last season, Winfield didn?t see the Vikings as having as strong a chance to win a ring this season.

?[The Seahawks] have an opportunity to do something that I dream about every night and that?s win a championship,? Winfield said. ?I don?t have too much time left. This is Year 15 for me so I?m trying to get it this year.?
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http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.co...ntoine-winfield-wasnt-returning-to-minnesota/
 
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June 28, 2013
Antoine Winfield gets high marks from Pro Football Focus

Posted by Jayson Jenks

Antoine Winfield is one of the Seahawks? most intriguing additions, in my opinion, this offseason. He?s a cornerback with a well-established reputation as an elite tackler who has also graded out well in the past in coverage. Yet he?s also 36 years old and entering his 15th season in the league. One of the most interesting aspects will be to see how his body holds up this season and if he?s lost a step or two.

Pro Football Focus, though, gives Winfield stellar grades for his play the last five years, and the Seahawks are banking on getting something similar from Winfield, who will likely see a lot of the field as the team?s nickelback. Pro Football Focus is a site that prides itself on evaluating players not on reputation but on performance, and they are currently releasing their rankings of the best players at each position over the last five years.

Winfield checked in as the fifth-best cornerback against the pass in the league. Here?s, in part, what PFF wrote about him: ?His game is built upon allowing catches for short yardage and making stops in coverage ? evidenced by four complete seasons in which he is yet to allow more than 10 yards per reception into his coverage.?

But the most interesting nugget from the site: ?It shouldn?t be forgotten that Winfield gets the job done in coverage and hasn?t allowed a touchdown in the past three years.?

Winfield fared better when it came to evaluating cornerbacks against the run: He was ranked first, and it wasn?t even close. There?s a tendency in sports to saddle reputations on players and keep building on those reputations even when the performance doesn?t back it up. But in Winfield?s case, his play validates his status as one of the league?s top corners against the run.

The only other corners to be ranked in both categories? Champ Bailey and Charles Woodson.
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http://blogs.seattletimes.com/seaha...arks-from-pro-football-focus/?syndication=rss
 
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July 14, 2013
Countdown to Training Camp: 15 questions in 15 days ? How much will Antoine Winfield play?

Posted by Jayson Jenks

Antoine Winfield brings a lofty and well-earned pedigree to Seattle: One of the NFL?s best tackling cornerbacks. A 15-year pro. A guy off a season in which he posted 101 tackles ? a 101! ? from his cornerback position. Pro Bowler.

There were offseason moves that commanded more splash ? Percy Harvin, for example ? but none might be as influential as the signing of Winfield. And for this reason: There?s a chance he might change the way the Seahawks play this season, in that they may rely more and more on the nickle package.

Seattle returns to proven linebackers in K.J. Wright and Bobby Wagner, but the Seahawks still have question marks at the other spot. Malcolm Smith, entering his third year, appears the front runner right now, but there?s also a scenario in which the Seahawks could elect to go smaller and turn to Winfield instead of playing the more traditional three linebackers.

General manager John Schneider said in April that Winfield, who is 36 heading into his 16th season, will play between 50 and 70 percent of the time. Depending on match ups week to week and how Smith and the other linebackers develop during camp this summer, it will be interesting to track how much Seattle leans on the savvy and steady tackling of Winfield this season. The NFL is continuing to evolve into a league dominated by passing, and playing a fifth defensive back extensively could make a lot of sense.
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http://blogs.seattletimes.com/seaha...-15-days-how-much-will-antoine-winfield-play/
 
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Impact of Antoine Winfield on run defense
July, 15, 2013
By Kevin Seifert | ESPN.com

Pro Football Focus (PFF) offers some detail and context to supplement our discussion last week of the offseason move the Minnesota Vikings should (or shouldn't) have made.

As I'm sure you read and recall, we wondered if the Vikings had done enough to replace cornerback Antoine Winfield. The Vikings did make cornerback Xavier Rhodes one of their three first-round draft picks, and he'll join a group of high selections that include Chris Cook and Josh Robinson, but the real question is whether anyone can fill Winfield's important role in the Vikings' rejuvenated run defense of 2012.

In its first season under coordinator Alan Williams, the Vikings allowed the seventh-lowest average in yards per carry (3.96) in the NFL. A good portion of credit went to Winfield, who worked often out of the slot position -- one that put him close to the line of scrimmage and thus in a natural run-stopping position.

According to PFF, Winfield's average tackle in the run game went for gain of 2.36 yards. That figure led all NFL cornerbacks.

All statistics must be put in context, of course, and it's worth noting the pre-snap position of a cornerback can vary widely depending on scheme. An outside cornerback asked to play deep coverage, for example, isn't going to have nearly the opportunities that Winfield got last season.

Regardless, Winfield offered the Vikings elite-level play against the run. There are ways to compensate, but it's going to be difficult for the Vikings to find a cornerback who can come anywhere close to replicating Winfield's contribution. The slack will have to be taken up elsewhere.
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http://espn.go.com/blog/nfcnorth/post/_/id/57854/impact-of-antoine-winfield-on-run-defense
 
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Five underrated offseason signings
Antoine Winfield among signings who could be huge additions to new teams
Originally Published: July 22, 2013
By Matt Williamson | ESPN Insider

1. Antoine Winfield to Seattle Seahawks

Winfield is simply a great football player. In fact, he is one of the best cornerbacks of this generation and is still playing at an extremely high level. It baffled me that Minnesota allowed Winfield to leave and that more teams did not beat down his door for his services, even with a short-term contract. Winfield isn't a young man anymore at 36, but still can be a high-end starter. For the Seahawks, he will be asked to be their third cornerback and man the slot, something at which he is simply superb.

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http://insider.espn.go.com/nfl/stor...e-winfield-underrated-signees-make-impact-nfl
 
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Seahawks CB Antoine Winfield sets sights on Vikings
Tom Pelissero, USA TODAY Sports
July 26, 2013


RENTON, Wash. ? Antoine Winfield insists he's not bitter about the way his nine years with the Minnesota Vikings ended.

That doesn't mean the veteran cornerback isn't relishing the chance to get a little payback when the Seattle Seahawks host the Vikings on Nov. 17 at CenturyLink Field.

"Oh, my. It's circled," Winfield told USA TODAY Sports with a smile at Seahawks training camp this week. "I can't wait to play against those guys."

For Winfield, who spent five seasons with the Buffalo Bills before signing with the Vikings in 2004, the time was right to move on after a stunning release he admits "hurt at first."

The Vikings made a superior offer that guaranteed Winfield's full base salary if he'd return. But Winfield took less ? one year for up to $3 million, with only $1 million guaranteed ? in hopes of pursuing a title at age 36 in Seattle.

"It's all about winning," Winfield said. "I want to win a championship. We got a lot of talent out here."

It just so happens some of that talent came from the team that'll be on the opposite sideline come Nov. 17.
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http://www.usatoday.com/story/sport...d-seattle-seahawks-minnesota-vikings/2591635/
 
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Focus on: Antoine Winfield
Clare Farnsworth Seahawks.com Writer @Seahawks

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Concerned that Antoine Winfield isn?t making one play after another on the practice field for the Seahawks? Don?t be, because the veteran cornerback is doing his job by taking his receiver out of the play.

Ten practices into his first training camp with the Seahawks, Antoine Winfield has yet to make that signature play.

You know, the type of interception or kind of deflection that underscores why the three-time Pro Bowl cornerback was signed in free agency to fill the nickel spot in the Seahawks? ?Legion of Boom? secondary.

Pete Carroll supplied the answer for all the things Winfield seemingly hasn?t done, by explaining all the things he quietly has.

?He?s been in great position; takes away a lot of routes, so we can?t even throw it,? the Seahawks? fourth-year coach said on Sunday.

Told of Carroll?s comment, Winfield just smiled after Monday?s practice.

The follow-up question also elicited a smile, followed by a laugh: When was the last time he was confused by anything an offense threw at him? A formation? A route? A deceptive tactic?

?A while. It?s been a very long time,? Winfield said. ?I?ve been playing in this league; this will be my 15th season, so I?ve pretty much seen it all.?

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http://www.seahawks.com/news/articl...Winfield/8fdc22c2-17c6-41cb-9cc8-e9e1c0e0187c
 
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Winfield feeding off Seahawks' youthful enthusiasm
Published: August 28, 2013


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Seattle cornerback Antoine Winfield makes a grab for the football during Seahawks training camp earlier this month in Renton.

TED S. WARREN/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

By ERIC D. WILLIAMS — [email protected]

RENTON — Cornerback Antoine Winfield, 36 years young, cast reason aside in choosing a young Seattle team known for its swagger over the familiar surroundings of Minnesota in free agency.

But Winfield had a good reason for his decision — the belief that he could win a Super Bowl with the Seahawks.

“We have a young team,” Winfield said. “It kind of reminds me of a college atmosphere. Guys are loose, it’s very competitive and we’re working hard trying to get each other better, so when we go out on Sundays it makes it a lot easier.”

Entering his 15th season, Winfield understands he has to make the final roster first. He signed a one-year, $3 million deal in free agency — including $1 million in guaranteed money — with the expectation that he would serve as the team’s slot defender in passing situations.

cont...
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http://www.thenewstribune.com/2013/08/28/2753786/winfield-feeding-off-youthful.html
 
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"Wishing Antoine Winfield the best in his decision to retire," Seahawks coach Pete Carroll posted on Twitter. "He's a consummate pro and a great team player. We were lucky to have him!"

The expectation was the 36-year-old Winfield would have been released. The Seahawks gave him $1 million guaranteed on a one-year deal in hopes of bringing toughness to the nickel position, but they had younger options for depth in Walter Thurmond, Byron Maxwell and Jeremy Lane.

Winfield played 14 seasons with the Buffalo Bills and Minnesota Vikings, who cut him in March, just hours before free agency opened. The Vikings subsequently tried to re-sign Winfield, but he turned down their fully guaranteed contract offer in April to go to Seattle.

"It's all about winning," Winfield, a three-time Pro Bowler, told USA TODAY Sports last month. "I want to win a championship. We got a lot of talent out here."

Instead, Winfield will head into retirement.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/2013/08/31/seahawaks-antoine-winfield-retires/2751923/

Just sayin': hindsight is 20/20, maybe he should have resigned with the Vikings. Anyway (even if he never plays another down in the NFL) he had a great 14 year career.
 
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