Buccaneers’ $66 Million Pro Bowler Called NFL’s Top ‘Bounce Back’ Candidate

When wide receiver Chris Godwin suffered a season ending injury in Week 7, he was playing his position better than almost anyone in the NFL.

That created a seller’s market — even with the injury — that saw Godwin receive a reported $90 million offer from the New England Patriots.

While it wasn’t a surprise Godwin took considerably less money to stay with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, what would be a surprise is if he ever returns to the level of play he was at before he dislocated his ankle.

While Godwin might never play at an NFL All-Pro level again, he’s still better than 75 percent of the wide receivers in the league at just his level best — the Super Bowl champion had three consecutive 1,000-yard seasons from 2021 to 2023.

That’s also why Bleacher Report’s Moe Moton put the 29-year-old at the top of his list of “NFL Bounce Back Candidates” just ahead of the start of training camp.

“(Godwin) remains the Buccaneers’ most dynamic receiver, still in his prime,” Moton wrote on June 28. “At 31, Mike Evans barely kept his 1,000-yard receiving season streak alive last year. Entering his second term, Jalen McMillan is in the early stages of development. Emeka Egbuka has to earn quarterback Baker Mayfield’s trust as a reliable receiver.”

Figuring Out When Godwin Might Come Back

There’s been no official confirmation Godwin will be back for Week 1, and the Buccaneers would be foolish to rush back a player they just signed to a 3-year, $66 million contract with $44 million in guaranteed money.

Godwin, who is headed into his ninth season, was carted off the field with his left leg in an air cast in a 41-31 loss to the Baltimore Ravens on October 22. It was an injury bad enough that Monday Night Football declined to show the replay and Godwin had surgery within days.

“Between the player reactions, the fact ESPN won’t show a replay and the cart coming out, this appears to be a serious injury for #Buccaneers WR Chris Godwin,” NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo wrote on his official X account. “Awful.”

Godwin was off to the best start of his NFL career. At the time of his injury he was  fourth in the NFL with 50 receptions for 576 yards and 5 touchdowns.

If Godwin hasn’t had any setbacks, we still can’t rule out him returning for Week 1 — the Buccaneers open the season on the road against the Atlanta Falcons on September 7.

Godwin was healing well enough after his injury he thought he might be able to return for a dee playoff run — a moot point after the Washington Commanders upset the Buccaneers, 23-20, in the NFC Wild Card Round.

“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 re-injury,” Godwin told ESPN’s Jenna Laine on October 28. “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.”