While it was no secret that Bucs quarterback Jameis Winston went through the final month of the 2019 season playing with a fractured thumb on his throwing hand, just how significant the injury might have been is just now being learned.

NFL insider Ian Rapoport reported on Saturday that Winston’s hand is in a full cast, something PewterReport.com was able to confirm as well.

One note on last week: It was clear that #Bucs QB Jameis Winston was playing through a thumb injury on his right hand. Now, he’s in a full cast – an indication of how serious that injury was. And he played. Pretty tough. — Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 4, 2020

Winston was injured in the first half of the Buccaneers 38-35 win over the Colts in early December. Over the course of the injury, Winston threw nine of his league-leading 30 interceptions, including a four-interception meltdown game versus the Houston Texans on December 21. While some could point to the thumb injury as partly a culprit in the turnover issue late in the year, Winston also managed to set an NFL record for consecutive 450-plus yard games playing with the same fractured thumb.

How much it affected Winston’s ability to throw the ball might not ever be known, but as Rapoport tweeted, it certainly showed toughness from Winston done the stretch.