Chris Godwin‘s restoration is underway, along with his ankle surgical procedure lately accomplished. His damage will sideline him for the rest of the Buccaneers’ common season, however he’s leaving the door open to a playoff return.
“I imply, I feel that’s best-case situation, proper?” Godwin mentioned when requested about his restoration timeline through ESPN’s Jenna Laine. “Like very best case. For all concerned. Every thing traces up. That’s what you sort of purpose for.”
Given these remarks, it ought to nonetheless be thought of unlikely Godwin will play once more in 2024, even when the Bucs handle a postseason berth. Tampa Bay misplaced Godwin and Mike Evans in Week 7 (though the latter’s hamstring damage will not be as extreme), severely scaling down the workforce’s receiver depth chart. The Bucs misplaced the sport by which each wideouts went down, together with Sunday’s divisional tilt in opposition to the Falcons.
Consequently, Tampa Bay now sits at 4-4, so one other NFC South title is way from a certainty. Reaching the playoffs might be a problem, given the accidents confronted on offense (together with the workforce’s underwhelming showings on protection). If the Buccaneers might qualify for the playoffs, although, it will no less than open the door to an eventual return on Godwin’s half.
The 28-year-old’s final vital damage got here in 2021 when he suffered ACL and MCL tears. Godwin managed to prime 1,000 yards up to now two campaigns, and he was nicely on his solution to surpassing that mark once more in 2024 with a yards-per-game common of 82.3 (the second-highest of his profession). A robust exhibiting would have boosted his market worth, however the pending free agent’s consideration is now on recovering as shortly as potential.
No talks on an extension are believed to have taken place earlier than the 2024 marketing campaign, resulting in loads of uncertainty surrounding Godwin’s future. Ought to that develop into potential, the workforce and gamers would welcome a return in the course of the postseason.
