Bucs wide receiver Chris Godwin will be out indefinitely, probably for the season, after dislocating his ankle in Monday’s loss to the Ravens.
Coach Todd Bowles revealed the bad news, saying “it doesn’t look good,” while answering questions about why Godwin was even in the game with 41 seconds left.
“You could say [he shouldn’t have been in the game], because he got hurt. We don’t second guess,” Bowles said. “We got our guys, and we’re playing everybody we’ve got. It’s unfortunate he got hurt and we feel bad about that. But he’s a football player and he wanted to be in the game just like Baker [Mayfield] and everyone else wanted to be in the game.”
The Bucs trailed by 10 points with less than a minute remaining when Godwin caught a pass from Mayfield before being tackled by Ravens linebacker Roquan Smith. It was obvious the star receiver could not get up and was in significant pain.
ESPN declined to show a replay of the gruesome injury.
“Chris is a hell of a player, and he’s a hell of a human being, even more so than that,” Bowles said. “But there’s not much you can say. We feel bad for him. Unfortunately, they’re not going to cancel the games. We’ve got to step up and move on, but our hearts are heavy.”
The Bucs lost their other star receiver, Mike Evans, in the first half when he dropped a touchdown pass while aggravating his hamstring on a tackle by Ravens defensive back Brandon Stephens.
Godwin, who becomes a free agent in the offseason, entered the game with 43 catches for 511 yards and five touchdowns before catching seven passes for 65 yards against the Ravens.