Buccaneers Pro Bowl WR aiming for postseason return

Chris Godwin‘s recovery is underway, with his ankle surgery recently completed. His injury will sideline him for the remainder of the Buccaneers’ regular season, but he is leaving the door open to a playoff return.

“I mean, I think that’s best-case scenario, right?” Godwin said when asked about his recovery timeline via ESPN’s Jenna Laine. “Like absolute best case. For all involved. Everything lines up. That’s what you kind of aim for.”

Given those remarks, it should still be considered unlikely Godwin will play again in 2024, even if the Bucs manage a postseason berth. Tampa Bay lost Godwin and Mike Evans in Week 7 (although the latter’s hamstring injury is not as severe), severely thinning out the team’s receiver depth chart. The Bucs lost the game in which both wideouts went down, along with Sunday’s divisional tilt against the Falcons.

As a result, Tampa Bay now sits at 4-4, so another NFC South title is far from a certainty. Reaching the playoffs will be a challenge, given the injuries faced on offense (along with the team’s underwhelming showings on defense). If the Buccaneers could qualify for the playoffs, though, it would at least open the door to an eventual return on Godwin’s part.

The 28-year-old’s last significant injury came in 2021 when he suffered ACL and MCL tears. Godwin managed to top 1,000 yards in the past two campaigns, and he was well on his way to surpassing that mark again in 2024 with a yards-per-game average of 82.3 (the second-highest of his career). A strong showing would have boosted his market value, but the pending free agent’s attention is now on recovering as quickly as possible.

No talks on an extension are believed to have taken place before the 2024 campaign, leading to plenty of uncertainty surrounding Godwin’s future. Should that become possible, the team and players would welcome a return during the postseason.