Report: Bucs' Godwin to undergo season-ending ankle surgery
Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Chris Godwin will undergo season-ending surgery on his dislocated ankle this week, sources told Ian Rapoport of NFL Network.
Godwin is expected to make a full recovery and return for the 2025 season, Rapoport adds. He's set to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the 2024 campaign.
The Penn State product left Monday night's game on a cart with 0:43 left in the fourth quarter of a 41-31 loss to the Baltimore Ravens.
Godwin had an air cast on his leg as he exited the field. The ESPN broadcast didn't show a replay of the incident. Buccaneers players were visibly emotional and showed their support for the veteran wideout.
The entire Buccaneers team comes over to the cart to send Chris Godwin off the field. #Bucs pic.twitter.com/cxkAcYvCkP
— Logan B. Robinson (@LogansTwitty) October 22, 2024
When asked about why Godwin and other Buccaneers starters were still in the game with the team trailing by two possessions in the final seconds, Bowles said he was still trying to win the matchup.
"He's a player, we're just trying to win the ball game. ... We were trying to get the extra points and kick another onside kick," Bowles said.
Godwin caught seven passes for 65 yards against the Ravens. The 28-year-old entered the matchup as Tampa Bay's leading receiver after amassing 43 receptions, 511 yards, and five TD catches through the first six games of the season.
He's appeared in 110 games and posted four 1,000-yard seasons since the Bucs drafted him in the third round in 2017.
The Buccaneers lost their top two pass-catchers Monday, as Mike Evans - the franchise's all-time receiving leader - left the Ravens game in the first half with a hamstring injury.