Coming off bye, 49ers have Winston, Bucs in their sights

SANTA CLARA - Jameis Winston will get another shot at resurrecting his career as Tampa Bay’s starting quarterback, and the 49ers aren’t sure what to expect from him Sunday when they visit the Buccaneers in their first game after a bye week.

“I have watched film. I’ve seen Jameis threw four (interceptions) one game,” 49ers safety Jimmie Ward said Monday. “But I’ve seen him have good games, too, where he threw three or four touchdowns. It depends who we get on Sunday.”

It will be Winston’s fourth start this season and first since Oct. 28, when he had four passes intercepted in a loss at Cincinnati. He produced four touchdown drives in the Bucs 38-35 loss at the New York Giants on Sunday upon relieving Ryan Fitzpatrick.

The 49ers (2-8) are looking to hand the Bucs (3-7) their fifth straight loss.

Winston, the 2015 draft’s No. 1 pick, has had his 2019 option exercised by the Bucs, who are on the hook for his $20.9 million salary if he gets hurt in these remaining games. He was suspended this season’s first three games, then excelled in Week 4 relief and went 1-2 as the starter before ceding the role back to Fitzpatrick.

During the bye, coach Kyle Shanahan requested his players spend the time mulling over what they want out of these final six games and their impending futures.

“He knows where we’re going, and the way he put it, he wants to see who’s coming with us,” fullback Kyle Juszczyk said. “We’re trying to find the right guys who are going to continue on this path with us.”

Juszczyk said it’s not a matter of guys “buying in” as much as it is actually producing positive results, and the 49ers are hoping to repeat last season’s late success. And although they closed 2018 on a five-game win streak, that vibe didn’t carry over to this season.

Added Juszczyk: “Things did feel different at the end of last season. There was a swagger about this team. Everybody had confidence. Things were clicking. We didn’t come back that way. It’s hard to put a finger on what exactly made it that way, but we all had a chance over the bye to look into the mirror and decide how we want to finish this season.”

Receivers absent

Wide receivers Marquise Goodwin and Pierre Garçon were notably absent as the 49ers began practicing for Sunday’s game at Tampa Bay.

Goodwin, who turned 28 on Monday, was excused for personal reasons rather than an injury issue, according to a team source. Goodwin twice appeared to sustain a head injury last game, but he was cleared during that loss to the New York Giants and again the next day.

Garçon hasn’t played in two of the past three games, and he spent the bye weekend in Florida. Kendrick Bourne, who has filled in for Garçon at the flanker spot, appeared limited in warmups. An official injury report won’t be distributed until Wednesday.

Garcon’s 24 receptions lead the wide-receiver corps while tight end George Kittle has picked up the slack with 50 catches (25th-most in NFL). Bourne has set career highs with 23 receptions and three touchdowns. No other 49ers receiver has more than 20 receptions this season.

Defenders return

Linebacker Reuben Foster and strong safety Jaquiski Tart look poised to return from their two-game hiatus, caused by respective hamstring and shoulder injuries in an Oct. 28 loss at Arizona.

The 49ers also added linebacker James Onwualu to the practice squad. Onwualu played last year for the Los Angeles Chargers after going undrafted out of Notre Dame, where he overlapped with 49ers Sheldon Day and Mike McGlinchey.