Chris Godwin‘s season is over. On Monday, the Buccaneers announced that the wide receiver has been diagnosed with a torn ACL, ruling him out for the remainder of the season as well as the postseason. 
[RELATED: Brown To Rejoin Buccaneers]
Godwin was forced out in the first half of last night’s game against the Saints with a knee injury. As recently as this morning, the Bucs were optimistic about his outlook — doctors believed that he was dealing with an MCL sprain that would only shelve him for a few weeks. Unfortunately, it’s far worse than that. Godwin is now set for surgery and an offseason of rehab as the rest of the Bucs push for another title.
As expected, Godwin has been a focal point of Tampa’s offense this year. Through 14 games, he notched 98 catches for 1,103 yards and five touchdowns (as well as one rushing TD). Even with the impending return of Antonio Brown, his presence will be sorely missed.
On the plus side, the Bucs have received better news regarding fellow star receiver Mike Evans and running back Leonard Fournette. Their hamstring injuries may cost them time, but they should be ready to go sometime before the playoffs (via NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport).
The timing is doubly bad for Godwin since he’s months away from free agency. Before the injury, he was poised to shatter the WR market. He’s currently fifth in the league with 1,103 yards, trailing only Cooper Kupp, Justin Jefferson, Davante Adams, and Tyreek Hill. Up until the injury, he was in line for something similar to his breakout 2019 — 1,333 yards with nine scores.
The Bucs, now without Godwin, remain in the NFC South driver’s seat at 10-4. They’ll have a chance to clinch on Sunday when they face the Panthers.
Bummer for the guy.. free agency looming too..
Think he’ll still get paid. He’s young and been productive. He should be ready to go come week 1 and plenty of teams are desperate for WR help.
Will he break the market? Probably not but I could still see him getting a 5 yr 90 mm deal at least plus cap is spiking so maybe more.
No!!!!!!
Looks like Antonio Brown just might get that 2nd chance that Ariens said he wouldn’t get…
“We believe AB learned his lesson and will comply with all policies going forward.”
-Bruce Ariens, probably.
One of TB’s #1’s goes down, but they’re still in a good place with one #1 and a #1.5 (Brown) still on the roster. Add that with Gronk and they still have one of the top 5 receiving corps in the NFL.
🙂
Maybe he becomes affordable to some teams now.
It will be interesting to find out if the GOAT is really a GOAT without either a loaded team or a HOF coach.
He still has a loaded team, and Arians is a borderline HoF coach. Not there yet in my opinion, but I would say that it’s within reach.
As for the Bucs…without Godwin, they still have nine former All-Pros available.
You know that Brady did throw to guys like Patten, Wiggins. Branch and a few other non household names and still won a few Super Bowls.
Okay…that still doesn’t change anything about the Bucs today. That’s by FAR the most loaded roster in the NFL accomplishment-wise and talent-wise. They could start an elite QB like Brady or Rodgers and lead the league in offense. They could also do it with a good QB like Stafford or Allen. Heck, they could start an average QB like Tyrod Taylor and still be respectable because that defense is also loaded and the line and receiving weapons are good enough to compensate for certain mistakes.
Brady’s history is obviously what it is, but let’s not pretend that he’s hurting for talent right now.
That defensive secondary has been hurt most of the year and at times brutal.. without the WR’s for the next 3 games, it’s time for Perriman and Brown to step up, but losing the 2 RB’s wll hurt. I wouldn’t want to rely on Bell as a workhorse. That secondary may be their weakness in playoffs. Time will tell
The secondary has been the worst part of the team, even when healthy. I agree there. But the front seven is just absolutely insane. Tampa can get away with a weaker secondary by getting pressure up front, which is what they do frequently. If that doesn’t work, though, the opposing offense has an opportunity.
The Bucs really are, in my opinion, actually playing pretty far below their talent level. They’ve won a couple of games on hairline splits or missed calls (the New England game and the Dallas games are examples of each) and made a couple of games much closer than they should have been (the Philadelphia game). The team sputters, but the sheer talent level on the offense and defensive front seven has been enough to power through those spots.
In the playoffs, they’ll have to clean up some of those issues. Last year, the Bucs benefitted from playing a bunch of teams (New Orleans, Green Bay, and Kansas City) that were missing key pieces (especially along the offensive lines), while Tampa was getting players back healthy (Vita Vea). Now, they’re in the opposite position. If they get their safeties back, that will help them immensely, but as for now, there is enough sheer talent on the roster to power through most of the competition.