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Bucs Reveal Chris Godwin 'Hope' For Week 1

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Adam Schultz | Last updated Apr 3, 2025 7:26 AM ET

Tampa Bay Buccaneers receiver Chris Godwin saw his 2024 season end after just seven games thanks to a nasty ankle injury suffered against the Baltimore Ravens.

Now on the comeback trail with a shiny new contract in his back pocket, Godwin, who will call Tampa Bay home for the next three seasons, will be looking to hit the ground running this offseason.

But as we know, recovering from such a nasty injury, there will be checkpoints that Godwin will have to hit as he steps up his workload.

"I'm hoping he's on the field, Week 1," head coach Todd Bowles said. "I'll have more to know about that as the month goes on, see how he's healing and getting running and practicing and everything else, but my hope is for him to be on the field Week 1."

With Godwin having his season end after Week 7, the offense, led by Baker Mayfield, still managed to put up points for fun (29.5 p/g). So there isn't a pressing need to rush Godwin back through the preseason.

Instead, Bowles saying he "hopes" Godwin is ready for Week 1 suggests that the franchise will take a slow and cautious approach to his recovery.

Granted, that is Bowles talking now, so once Godwin hits the practice fields, the coaching staff will get a better idea of how he is traveling. While Week 1 is still a long time away, the fact that it looks like he might be ready to go is a positive thing in itself.

But make no mistake, the Bucs won't be rushing Godwin back. However, there's "hope" that he will be sooner rather than later.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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