Buccaneers' Chris Godwin gets brutal injury update before Week 1

Billy Heyen

Buccaneers' Chris Godwin gets brutal injury update before Week 1 image

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have wide receiver depth, which is a good thing.

They'll still be without veteran Chris Godwin for a whlie.

General manager Jason Licht announced Thursday that Godwin "will miss the first month of the season and possibly more," according to beat reporter Rick Stroud.

It's oddly timed news, because the Buccaneers' standout reportedly passed a physical on Tuesday and was activated off the physically unable to perform list.

Godwin dislocated his left ankle in Week 7 of the 2024 season, ending his campaign.

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He signed a three-year, $66 million contract in March to stay with the Bucs.

He won't get to start paying that off right away.

Buccaneers QB Baker Mayfield will have to work with an old reliable and a few newer targets in the early going.

Mike Evans remains in Tampa Bay, with his streak of 1,000-yard seasons still alive.

Then, the Bucs used a first-round pick on Emeka Egbuka out of Ohio State. Basically every review on Egbuka all preseason has been positive.

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The Buccaneers also seem excited about seventh-round rookie Tez Johnson out of Oregon.

Their depth also includes returning WRs Ryan Miller and Sterling Shepard.

Adding Godwin to that group eventually will create quite the pass-catching unit.

For now, the Bucs will have to make it work without Godwin.

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Billy Heyen

Billy Heyen is a freelance writer with The Sporting News. He is a 2019 graduate of Syracuse University who has written about many sports and fantasy sports for The Sporting News. Sports reporting work has also appeared in a number of newspapers, including the Sandusky Register and Rochester Democrat & Chronicle