Buccaneers wide receiver Chris Godwin is scheduled to undergo ankle surgery this week and sidekick Mike Evans could miss time with a hamstring injury that required an MRI exam on Tuesday.
The day-after feels around One Buc Place in Tampa were dismal due to the injuries, coupled with a 41-31 loss to the Baltimore Ravens on Monday night.
Head coach Todd Bowles defended his decision to have Godwin, the NFL’s leader in receptions this season, in the game with the Buccaneers chasing 10 points and 59 seconds remaining.
“We’ve got our guys. We’re playing everybody we’ve got. It’s unfortunate he got hurt, but he’s a football player and he wants to be in the game, just like Baker (Mayfield) and everybody else wanted to be in the game,” Bowles said.
He didn’t appreciate the implied angle that playing a starter, namely Godwin, in the final minute is a failure to protect his key personnel.
“I do protect my players all the time,” Bowles said. “That has nothing to do with why we left him in the ballgame. We still had a shot to score some points and win the ballgame. It happens. It happens in football.”
Godwin dislocated his ankle according to preliminary tests, Bowles said.
Godwin had seven receptions for 65 yards Monday night. He has 50 catches for 576 yards and five touchdowns in 2024.
Evans left the game in the first half with a hamstring injury resulting from a collision in the end zone. He immediately grabbed the back of his right hamstring after his effort to reel in what would have been a 24-yard touchdown.
Godwin was taken to the locker room on the back of a motorized cart just before the game ended. he 28-year-old had his left ankle caught under Baltimore linebacker Roquan Smith at the end of a 21-yard reception.
“Chris is a hell of a player, and he’s a hell of a human being even more so than that,” Bowles said. “There’s not much you can say. … Unfortunately they’re not gonna cancel the games and we gotta step up and move on, but our hearts are heavy.”
