The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are in the midst of a nightmare Monday night after losing both of their top two wide receivers against the Baltimore Ravens in a 41-31 Week 7 home loss. Mike Evans (hamstring) went down early in the first half, and Chris Godwin went down with a significant leg injury with 1:04 left to play.
Head coach Todd Bowles said postgame that the early indication is that Godwin suffered a dislocated ankle, which would sideline him indefinitely. He may have played his last career game as a Buccaneer with the 28-year-old set to become a free agent in 2025.
Godwin’s injury ocurred on a 21-yard catch-and-run with Tampa Bay trailing by 10, 41-31, which ended up being the game’s final score. The injury was gruesome enough that the ESPN broadcast did not show a replay of the moment Godwin went down. He was in the midst of having a career year, leading the NFL in catches (50) while ranking second in receiving yards (576) and tied for third in receiving touchdowns (five). Evans’ six receiving touchdowns are co-leading the NFL along with Bengals superstar Ja’Marr Chase.
After the game, head coach Todd Bowles defended his decision to keep Godwin, as well as Baker Mayfield and other starters, in the game with it seemingly out of reach.
“He’s a player, and we’re trying to win the ball game,” Bowles said. “We were down 10, so we were still trying to get points and kick another onside kick, and it just happened. With Mike going down we didn’t have that many receivers as it was, so we played with what we had.
“It’s unfortunate he got hurt and we feel bad about that. But he’s a football player and he wanted to be in the game just like Baker and everyone else wanted to be in the game.”
Tampa Bay may be more aggressive prior to the NFL’s Nov. 5 trade deadlines after quarterback Baker Mayfield’s top two targets go down with serious lower body injuries. The Buccaneers next men up include nine-year veteran Sterling Shepard, 2023 sixth-round pick Trey Palmer and 2024 third-round rookie Jalen McMillan.
