Credit: Julio Aguilar/Getty Images
Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Chris Godwin spoke publicly for the first time since dislocating his left ankle in Week 7, expressing hope to return for the playoffs. At a foundation event on Monday night, he described that goal as the “best-case scenario” but emphasized he’s taking things “day by day.”
“I mean, I think that’s best-case scenario, right? Like absolute best case. For all involved. Everything lines up. That’s what you kind of aim for,” said Godwin, who had been leading the NFL with 50 receptions, and whose five touchdowns were tied for third most in the league through the first seven weeks of the season.
Focused on Recovery and Rehab
Godwin has shown resilience before, bouncing back from a major ACL and MCL tear late in 2021 to start in Week 1 of 2022. He went on to reach 1,000 receiving yards in both 2022 and 2023 but shared that he only felt fully recovered in 2024.
“It’s a very different injury, and obviously I’ve never been through this before, but I trust the people that I’m going to be working with to help give me back,” said Godwin, who underwent surgery last week. “And the biggest thing for me is make sure that it’s secure, make sure that it’s strong and stable, and I’m not at risk of reinjury. But there’s a lot of stuff in the beginning that you can do to prepare yourself to make an acceleration later in the rehab process, just by doing some of the little things or little extra little things.”
As he was carted off during last week’s Monday Night Football, Godwin told the team’s head athletic trainer, “Back to work.” The moment went viral, with fans praising his composure.
“I think that’s just who I am, I guess,” Godwin said. “Because that’s where my mind went. I wasn’t focused on why, because it wouldn’t matter if somebody explained it to me, it wouldn’t have mattered. All I could do is control what I could control. And that was going back to work. And obviously I had been through a rehab process already. I never want to go through one of those again, but that’s where we were. So it’s back to work.”
Foundation Gala Highlights Support
Godwin arrived at his Team Godwin Foundation Gala on a mobility scooter, dressed in a custom suit with shorts to accommodate his ankle splint. The event raised money for animals impacted by Hurricane Milton and other natural disasters.
“I’m doing well. I think the biggest thing — my spirits are high. Like that’s the hardest thing, during periods like this, whenever you’re injured, because you can’t move, you can’t do what you love, you’re in pain often, a lot of the time, and you have to rebuild yourself,” Godwin said. “So I think that obviously this is the side most people outside of athletes really don’t get to see. And it’s a tough part of it. So trying to keep my spirits high is the biggest thing. And then as the pain goes out and rehab starts, and then the time of really lock in, get back to playing.”
Godwin’s fans have donated over $15,000 to his charity, which he said meant a lot. “Honestly, it really touched my heart,” Godwin said of the donations. “I think that was probably the thing that I was most encouraged by was just the outpour of love. And especially like in that way, because people didn’t have to do that. They didn’t have to take their hard-earned money and donate it to our cause. They could have just said, ‘Get well soon,’ and that would’ve meant the same.
“But it’s really special that people took the time and had the intention to want to help others through our foundation. I’m very grateful for that. Very grateful to be in Tampa and to have the community that I do here. It’s such a great area to be in and times like this really put that in our perspective.”
Bucs’ Season Outlook Stays Positive
More than a dozen teammates, including Mike Evans, Cade Otton, and Jamel Dean, attended the event. Evans, sidelined with a hamstring injury, isn’t expected to return until after Tampa’s Week 11 bye.
Godwin believes his team will figure things out at 4-4.
“There’s no doubt my mind,” Godwin said. “There’s a bunch of great guys there. They’re smart, they’re capable. It’s like adjustments have to be made, but we got guys that can really step into those roles. … I mean it and believe it. The guys work put in much work here. I know the intentions of the team. I know the attitude. The grit. We know how the season goes. It can turn around, just like that.”
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This report used information from ESPN.
