Bucs GM preaches patience regarding returns of Chris Godwin, Tristan Wirfs

Tampa Bay Buccaneers personnel have spent the summer speaking carefully about the statuses of wide receiver Chris Godwin and All-Pro left tackle Tristan Wirfs amid their recoveries from injury setbacks. 

That trend continued when Buccaneers general manager Jason Licht was asked on Tuesday if Godwin could potentially play in Tampa Bay's Week 1 game. 

"That we don't know yet," Licht responded, per Buccaneers.com. "[Godwin is] doing very well. He's advancing through his protocols. He's exactly where they anticipated and hoped he would be at this point. We've still got a ways to go."

"A ways to go" isn't necessarily promising regarding the 29-year-old who went down with a dislocated left ankle, high ankle sprain, fractured fibula and torn deltoid in October 2024. Godwin agreed to a three-year, $66M contract with $45M guaranteed to stay with the Buccaneers this past offseason before the club made receiver Emeka Egbuka the 19th overall pick of this year's draft. 

According to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, Godwin's deal included "nothing that creates an exception for any aggravation of the injury or related condition." 

Meanwhile, Wirfs underwent surgery on his right knee earlier this summer. According to ESPN's Jenna Laine, he was spotted moving around while using just a single crutch on Tuesday. 

"Yeah, he's doing an excellent job," Licht said about Wirfs' recovery. "We just have to be careful and not push him out there too early. I'm sure we'll put him through a battery of tests before we deem him fit to play. I'm sure his doctors will. We just want to be careful with that one. He's a cornerstone player for us and we don't want to put him out there before it's too soon, but he's doing an excellent job."

Previous reports indicated that free-agency signing Charlie Heck will serve as Wirfs' replacement until further notice. Most recently, Heck appeared in nine games and made two starts while with the Arizona Cardinals and San Francisco 49ers last season. 

"I think Charlie has done a really nice job there at left tackle," Licht said. "He's getting a lot of reps against quality people, and that's going to benefit all of us by the time the regular season comes. ...Obviously, he's not Tristan Wirfs, but in terms of what we're looking for in a swing tackle that can step in and play a couple games or a few games."

It sounds like Godwin and Wirfs could both be spectators when the Bucs face the Atlanta Falcons at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Sept. 7.