Will Jameis Winston play Sunday? ‘That’s the plan’

TAMPA — Quarterback Jameis Winston was in uniform Wednesday, had a play sheet on his left wrist and took his five-step drop.

But when it came time to throw, he was missing a football.

“Sometimes it’s good to give your arm a break, but not your brain,” Bucs coach Bruce Arians said. “He’s out there working with us even without throwing.”

Winston was limited in practice Wednesday due to a broken right thumb he suffered in Sunday’s 38-35 win over the Colts.

"It’s getting better every day and I’m just taking it day by day,’’ Winston said.

Still, Arians said he expects Winston to play Sunday in Detroit.

“That’s the plan,” Arians said. “We’ll see how it goes.”

Winston said he was injured during the two-minute drive at the end of the first half Sunday when his hand struck the helmet of Colts defensive end Al-Quadin Muhammad.

“The last two-minute drive, I threw a ball to O.J. and I kind of hit 97 (Muhammad),'' Winston said. “I threw it and I hit his hand and when I pulled back, I hit his helmet. Two-minute drive. About the third to the last play. I really didn’t feel it in the locker room. But when I came out, because I’m not playing catch in the locker room, I came out to grab a ball and I said, ‘Oh.’”

Backup quarterback Ryan Griffin played the first series of the third quarter with Winston out. It was the first regular-season snap that Griffin, 30, had played in a regular-season NFL game.

Griffin went 2-of-4 passing for 18 yards, leading the Bucs to one first down before Winston returned. On Wednesday, Griffin was taking the first-team reps with the starting offense.

“I’ve got an opponent to focus on and it’s bigger than me,'' Winston said. "It’s about the team.''