Some Clarity On Chris Godwin’s Injury
November 6th, 2025
Rough estimated return timetable surfaces.
There is more specific information on Chris Godwin’s lingering injury, though the report only invites more questions.
Chris Godwin last year had his ankle destroyed against Baltimore. And he had surgery. Twice. Then he came back to play 105 snaps this season against Philadelphia and Seattle before he went back on the shelf with what the Bucs will only refer to as “fibula,” which is part of his original injury suffered against Baltimore.
As one can expect, Bucs coach Todd Bowles has been vague about what’s going on with Godwin and the nature of his “fibula” injury that put Godwin back on the sidelines the past three games.
Again on Thursday, Godwin did not practice, which has been the norm for him the past month. As seen on ESPN, Jeremy Fowler had information on Godwin’s injury and it doesn’t sound like he will play in the near future.
“He aggravated his fibula earlier in the year,” Fowler said of Godwin. “The Bucs just don’t want to press it with him.
“They are thinking late-November, December with Chris Godwin so they will take it week to week with him. They will see if he can practice on Friday but he was not out there today.”
Well, Fowler said Godwin “aggravated” his fibula injury. When? Earlier this year, Godwin went back for a second surgery. The Bucs were adamant at the time it was just a routine cleanup.
Many doctors will suggest there is no such thing as a “routine” surgery.
Is this when Godwin “aggravated” his fibula, causing Godwin to go under the knife a second time? Or is Fowler referring to Godwin aggravated his fibula during the Seahawks game? Fowler was not clear.
If the Bucs really are going to take it easy on Godwin and not rush him back, then Joe guesses Fowler’s rough estimate of a December return is more accurate than a November return.
In the video you can see below, Fowler has little information on Bucky Irving, but WTSP-TV Channel 10 sports anchor Evan Closky typed that Fowler reported Irving’s shoulder is the biggest concern for the Bucs.
Jeremy Fowler talked about the Tampa Bay Buccaneers injury situation on Sportscenter today.
He mentioned the shoulder injury is more of a concern for Bucky Irving than his foot.
He also said Chris Godwin Jr. might not be back until "late November-December." pic.twitter.com/Xtjn1fYPlM
— Evan Closky (@ECloskyWTSP) November 6, 2025
November 6th, 2025 at 11:14 pm
Bucs medical. Tallest midget.
November 6th, 2025 at 11:18 pm
God bless Chris Godwin!!!
November 6th, 2025 at 11:21 pm
Lol if he won’t come back until end of November early December why would he pratice Friday? Makes no sense
November 6th, 2025 at 11:22 pm
The concern with Bucky has to be that with a shoulder sublaxation injury a failure to heal is a step towards getting surgery. My guess is they’re trying to give him all the time they can before doing that and ending his season.
In other words they’re operating on hope – but so far it’s not looking good. My two cents.
November 6th, 2025 at 11:25 pm
About as clear as mud. I expect Evans and McMillan out for the season, we’ll be lucky to see Godwin again this year. Too many injuries to overcome. Offense looked horrendous last 2 games. Next 3 games 0-3. I had such high hopes heading into this season. Seattle is the only good team we beat, and maybe SF if you count them.
November 6th, 2025 at 11:36 pm
Is there an IR limit preventing that or him practicing behind the scenes (?) is more important than the roster spot?
Hopefully this is a situation where the Bucs weren’t rushing him but he wanted to get in so played a bit, reported some soreness and Bucs shut him down again, rehab and strengthen for a couple more months and get a couple tune ups before the playoffs, help us last 3 games kinda deal.
November 6th, 2025 at 11:52 pm
BPBucsfan Says:
Too many injuries to overcome. Offense looked horrendous last 2 games. Next 3 games 0-3. I had such high hopes heading into this season. Seattle is the only good team we beat, and maybe SF if you count them.
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Every team has vulnerabilities just like the Bucs do. Don’t write them off just because they’re facing adversity. They have an intact defense playing much better than given credit for. If the offense can be average they’ll win more than they’ll lose.
November 6th, 2025 at 11:54 pm
“..Bucs coach Todd Bowles has been vague about what’s going on with Godwin and the nature of his “fibula..””
———-
“It’s a mystery wrapped in a riddle inside an enigma.”
November 7th, 2025 at 12:07 am
Sounds like a career ending injury honestly, lets move on, if he ever comes back and makes a difference then good. Lets focus on who actually is playing football. This type of injury is often the last one they ever have.
November 7th, 2025 at 12:22 am
There is a cap but the Bucs am pretty sure are under that.
***Generally*** if the Bucs don’t think a guy can play for four games he goes on IR (Goedeke, Evans, Kancey, etc.). The only thing Joe can think of is that the Bucs believe Godwin and Bucky aren’t that far off.
November 7th, 2025 at 12:32 am
I would not count on Bucky or Chris until they actually line up on the field on a game day. They may not play another regular season game this year. We will see….
The Bucs have been very coy about the injuries to say the least, so until I see Bucky or Chris on the field, I do not care what is said by any Buc representative about any injuries.
November 7th, 2025 at 12:33 am
For whatever reason you local beat reporters get whipped by everybody else
Nothing but a group of podcasters acting like you know what is happening
Y’all suck. Never get the scoop.
November 7th, 2025 at 12:47 am
Shoulder subluxation in the majority of cases results in some degree of labrum tear.
While he may be able to eventually play thru it, this type of injury can take as much as 12 months to fully heal without surgery. The timeline with surgery can be shortened to 6 months.
Even if he comes back he will not be as effective and he will be prone to re-injury.
Hopefully Mayfield is advising him to not push it too hard….based on his own personal experience.
November 7th, 2025 at 1:23 am
“this type of injury can take as much as 12 months to fully heal without surgery.”
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Oh yes…Broke my shoulder, tore the rotator cuff, and dislocated it about 8 years ago. Took me about a year to “get over it.” No surgery. Unfortunately, re-injured it again. Sitting here w/ an ice pack on my shoulder and my arm in a sling right now, as I type this.Had an MRI three day ago. See the doctor next week to arrange surgery. Shoulder injuries totally suck. Severe pain and No SLEEP. Had a lot of injuries in my life but a shoulder injury is something I wouldn’t even wish on my worst enemy.
November 7th, 2025 at 1:24 am
So if your top 3 receivers are out until the end of the season, why did they not pull the trigger to get another receiver to help Egbuka?!?!?!?!?
I love LICHT but this is a massive failure
Shepherd, Otton, Tez, Kam, White out of the backfield, are all very good 5-7 options, but they just assured Egbuka will be double teamed and taken out of most games.
November 7th, 2025 at 1:38 am
Gotti-Dog-05-20-84 Says:
Shoulder subluxation in the majority of cases results in some degree of labrum tear.
While he may be able to eventually play thru it, this type of injury can take as much as 12 months to fully heal without surgery. The timeline with surgery can be shortened to 6 months.
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I’m of the same opinion. We’ve seen the last of Bucky for the year. Or at least the Bucky we *want* to see taking the field.
There seems to be a disconnect between the Bucs coaching/execs and the medical staff. Either there’s too much wishful thinking, incorrect prognosis or just plain mistakes with some injuries this year. Namely Godwin and Irving, but also Macmillan to a degree.
November 7th, 2025 at 1:56 am
Not surprised at all. They wouldn’t be so secretive if it wasn’t a big deal.
We might never see our pre-season fearsome foursome at WR ever actually all play a game together.
November 7th, 2025 at 2:46 am
Everyone says we good championsh def. Two rooks f it forget about getting the 1seed that’s in our grasp ok AC/DC 🤙🏾
November 7th, 2025 at 3:19 am
The Bucs Medical group is the best. Don’t operate, let nature do her work. Then after the time lapses where a surgery or modern technology therapy would have healed the injury, it’s time for surgery.
Play Looney Tunes theme song.
November 7th, 2025 at 4:10 am
As the saying goes, the best ability is availability. For most WRs, 30 years is when you start to see big declines in performance, as great as Mike has been, the recurring hamstrings will only get worse, with the streak over, I figure he really may retire this year. Even if he doesn’t, it would be remiss of us to offer him similar money to now, would have to be a smaller number if we bring him back (factoring in his age, maximum games a season probably 10 – 12). Godwin also will be 30 years old, and his latest injuries seen pretty serious. Hindsight is 20-20, but we really should have let him walk to the patriots and seen what compensatory draft pick we might have gotten – especially if Licht knew we were going to draft Egbuka in the first round.
Again, Godwin has been great, but father time is undefeated, and with the injuries, we cannot afford to be sentimental. Similarly, LVD we gotta think about how we replace him, still doing enough, but he’s not going to be able to sustain this forever
November 7th, 2025 at 4:15 am
Thank you for the update, Joe.
Figuring that Todd has a plan. Also sounding like Chris did try to be back much earlier and pressed it too much. These guys want to be on the field so badly, but must heed good medical advice to be fully 100% for not only football for their own livelihood.
November 7th, 2025 at 4:17 am
I said this before and I;l say it again. Second surgery would be routine to take the screws out.
November 7th, 2025 at 4:23 am
CLARITY on Chris Godwin’s injury? What I just read from Fowler above doesn’t add a thing.
“Aggravated his fibula earlier in the year” … Nothing new there.
“The Bucs just don’t want to press it with him” … Heard that before.
“They are thinking late-November, December with Chris Godwin so they will take it week to week with him” … Kinda obvious that Chris has been ‘week-to-week’ for awhile. Nothing new there either.
Pretty much the same with Bucky. And Mike Evans too. Seems to me like guys who do make it back late in the season after an extended rehab aren’t really difference-makers in the playoffs. They usually come back at less than 100% it seems, and in the playoffs that rarely seems to lead to being a difference-maker.
Not adding any help prior to the trade deadline COULD hurt us, depending upon other injuries. And with 9 regular season & (theoretically) up to 4 playoff games to go, more guys will probably get hurt. It’s the nature of the beast. And our DEPTH is dwindling. BUT … at least some of those depth-players are getting some good experience. HOPEFULLY there’s a diamond or two in there (or 4 or 5).
November 7th, 2025 at 4:49 am
Players that didn’t have injuries to their legs are MUCH MORE LIKELY to have a big effect coming back. That includes all of Evans, McMillan, and Irving(as long as foot isn’t a concern). Might take Godwin a while to be able to cut at full speed. Then again it could be soon. But the rest can help us immensely down the stretch for sure if they make it back.
November 7th, 2025 at 5:09 am
The Indiana Fever for example should’ve been fined massive amounts of money for the most egregious, non disclosure of the severity of injury I’ve ever seen. It mislead fans, and that shi league was likely in on it. Of fans knew she was in all actuality cooked for the year they lose a ton money, excitement, hope. Now, the situations aren’t exactly analogous because she’s the most popular woman athlete in the world and she’s everything to the team and league – but there is ONE throughline here. The Bucs know god dam well the severity of Bucky Irving’s injury. As well as Godwins. Bucky is 100% done for the year. HE IS DONE ok, and frankly the Godwin thing simply doesn’t look great for the team. This 3 yr guaran-f’ing -teed thing is a massive swing and a miss. Pop quiz – anyone remember the last time Evans and Godwin played a full season together? I’ll wait. Technically they need another receiver, a big body with speed. It’s time to move on
November 7th, 2025 at 5:17 am
If Irving was done for the year they would have put him on IR immediately. They’d need the roster spot to cover. I sincerely doubt there is any evidence of a tear and it’s just sore but won’t need surgery. If there was a tear he would be on IR.
Godwin’s probably experiencing residual soreness from removal of the screws and playing aggravated it.
McMillan probably only has a 50% chance of returning in the regular season- maybe 60% in the playoffs but that’s just an educated guess. Long heal time and very hard to guess.
Evans will probably be back the fastest or around same time as Irving. He should come back stronger and well rested too. Hamstrings 100% at least. And collarbone’s heal well and fast. 🙂
November 7th, 2025 at 5:22 am
This will be Bucky’s 5th game missed (after a bye no less) and Godwin’s 4th game missed… and it doesn’t sound like either will be playing at Buffalo in 9 days either….
Makes ZERO sense to me why both are on the active roster all this time when it was or at least should have been obvious that neither would be playing again any time soon.
They both should have been put on IR weeks ago so the Bucs could have elevated promising young players like Garrett Greene and Nick Jackson to actually help the team on game day and get them some valuable experience…..
Woulda, shoulda, coulda at this point but it seems to me like the Bucs did a poor job of projecting how long both these injured star players would be out.
November 7th, 2025 at 5:37 am
Stpete – you have no idea that this is a result of “the removal of screws,” and you don’t know for certain if that’s what his second surgery entailed – in most cases removing screws isn’t even necessary because they’re painless. You’re also giving the Bucs an incredible amount of benefit of the doubt relating to Bucky’s injury, and a massive leap to assume they’d just announce it. There is an equal to good chance that they are simply dragging this out. With surgery, Bucky will be 100% before training camp. Without it – he may miss games NEXT year too, if the nature of the shoulder injury is what has been reported by other sources. The Emeka Ebuka pick (that everyone complained about) was ironically savvy because it spoke volumes. It spoke volumes about their level of confidence of Godwin and Evans availability along with some future proofing. There is a fundamental flaw with keeping guys for too long. Belichick with the patriots in their heyday would’ve let Godwin walk – that is technically the correct move. Legacy deals to placate emotionally attached fans is not
November 7th, 2025 at 5:45 am
And this is why I voted mad about the trade deadline. We could’ve gotten a little help in here, without giving away too much. Chris isn’t going to be effective this year. Bucky might not play again this year. Jalen not playing this year most likely. Maybe Mike for playoffs.
November 7th, 2025 at 5:46 am
Just keep in mind I told you what I think is going on based on evidence. Nothing is 100%, but there’s no way if Irving has a tear he would not be on IR. That’s just lunacy. Heck, he would have probably had surgery by now…
Let’s ask Cedars-Sinai about the screws shall we?
You’ve had surgery to remove orthopedic hardware such as metal screws, pins, or plates. You can expect some pain and swelling around the cut (incision) the doctor made. This should get better within a few days. But it’s common to have some pain for up to several weeks.
Looks like Godwin had choice B since he had a lotta screws.
November 7th, 2025 at 6:55 am
Who could have imagined going into this season we’d lose all three starters, Evans, Godwin, McMillan. EE pick may have been prescient, but there’s still a lot of ball to be played and counting on backups feels like a stretch to save the season.
November 7th, 2025 at 6:56 am
@firethecannons no one has said career ending. This is being fabricated by fans. He will come back but for how long, who knows? Or will he even be the same Godwin, maybe unlikely given age and how long it’ll take to return to form it is frustrating but we just need to stick to the facts right now. That is the Bucs are targeting late November.
Personally I am pissed about the injuries. They have done well so far but I think teams are settlibg in and playing much better this time of the year. To go deeo, theyll need some guys back. I think they next 3 games arent looking great but need to keeo hope.
November 7th, 2025 at 7:41 am
Buncha nattering nabobs of negativism all up in here
November 7th, 2025 at 7:49 am
NO Cap on players on IR but you can only bring 8 players back during the season and 2 for the Playoffs…So not sure why we did not put Godwin and Bucky on IR unless just figuring more injuries
November 7th, 2025 at 9:39 am
Didn’t have internet access last week?
November 7th, 2025 at 9:43 am
No, but it surely is not harbinger of a Pro Bowl season on the horizon. Feel free to research 30-year old receivers — Godwin turns 30 in February.
A 30-ish receiver with a bad wheel doesn’t often dominate in the NFL. Not saying Godwin won’t or can’t, but history is not kind to 30-year old receivers with a bum wheel.
There’s a reason Licht only signed Godwin through the 2026 season.
November 7th, 2025 at 9:47 am
Can’t believe we’re never gunna get to see Evans, Egbuka, Godwin and McMillan at the same time. Stacked at WR to start the year and now hurting for extra bodies. Offense coulda been putting up crazy numbers. Smh 😔
November 7th, 2025 at 9:59 am
The feel good contracts for Evans and Godwin to placate the fan base were terrible business decisions. Godwin will be a dead cap hangover for 2 years and if we’re dumb enough to extend Evans again, it will be another waste of resources. As much as everyone loves these guys, it was clearly a huge gamble to expect 30 plus receivers to perform like players in their prime. Both had extensive injury histories. The unfortunate injury to Jmac just sealed our fate. The likelihood of any of these guys making sizable contributions is slim.
This situation is all on the FO. Not only did they gamble on the aging injury risks, they took no action to bring in any help before the trade deadline. Loving your draft picks is great until it isn’t. Foolish consistency will cost us any title this year. It appears we have already punted that idea. Selling hope for more Baker miracles may put some fans in the seats, but it has failure written all over it. There was way too much hope integrated into the planning for this year’s team. Hoping for Reddick to regain his form, Diaby and Braswell to finally become significant factors, old injured WRs to perform like young studs, David to hobble through another year, Dennis to be a reliable force in the middle. That is a lot of misses. And yet, we have a remarkable record up to this point. Our talent level fully healthy is good enough to contend for titles. Decimated by injury as it is, not so much.
I guess we wait for next year’s draft to get us over the top. Hopefully, all the dead weight we will carry won’t drag us down for another year. FO does deserve credit for building a solid team. A couple stars just might do it next year. We still have a puncher’s chance this year but don’t bet on it.
Go Bucs!!
November 7th, 2025 at 10:06 am
So if it’s already been weeks and it’s gonna be another month or 2, why did they not put him on IR….
Is this like a Wirfs situation where they think it has a chance to heal on its own and wait months only to say they’re gonna need surgery to repair. Bad track record this year for medical staff regarding these kinds of situations and using the wait and see mode.
November 7th, 2025 at 10:53 am
Resigning an injured Godwin was a brutal mistake when that money could have went to a pass rusher or LB
Licht is a GOD around here and he’s not all that. Pretty sure he still has a losing record as GM.
November 7th, 2025 at 11:01 am
I suffered a displaced talus fracture in 2016. It took me 2 years to feel somewhat normal and that was with very intense rehab. Even after the 2 year period I got into hot yoga and that’s what really healed me.
It’s gonna take Godwin a long time to feel normal if he ever does. I still have pain in my foot 10 years later, but nothing like the rehab.
November 7th, 2025 at 11:12 am
This is a really tough break for the Buccaneers. Here we go again missing our top three receivers against a formidable team like the New England Patriots. As much as anyone else I want the Bucs to win, but I’m thinking that they will double Emeka and Baker will have his hands full again, trying to escape with the ball in his hands, not making it too far against that defense. I know Baker Mayfield is just trying to make a play but good Lord please get rid of the ball if you see nothing available after your “ Check downs” ! So it doesn’t end up in a sack and losing yards from the line of scrimmage. I hope Grizzard can call better place than he did in the New Orleans game or else we’ll be facing another loss. There is no reason to attempt running the ball into the end zone four times and not getting in. I don’t understand why he didn’t call a bootleg or anything other than losing at least three points that can mean winning or losing at the end of the game. We shall see 🙏 “ I hope and pray we win Sunday “
November 7th, 2025 at 11:24 am
I was at the Seattle game. I was right behind Bucs bench. Watch the Tackle on his last catch. Dragged down from behind and on his right ankle/leg. Gingerly walked off. Never went to trainers. But was never the same after. Tweeted the Joes abkut it.
November 7th, 2025 at 11:52 am
Licht did bring in help for the receiver room. He just got it in the first and seventh rounds of the draft, not by trade. With Egbuka back up to full speed, double teams won’t matter all that much. And I think Tez will make them pay if they do it for too long. And in a few weeks, M1K3 will be back. Then hopefully the remaining 3 before or heading into the playoffs.
Then we’ll see…
November 7th, 2025 at 12:12 pm
truth be told, both Evans and Godwin are about done. Evans was out cold on that hit for a while. It took all he could muster just not to be carted off. And Godwin has maybe one more injury before he is selling insurance. Time for another draft receiver.
November 7th, 2025 at 12:39 pm
Should have e gone on IR.
The Bucs are going to have to get over the nostalgia of having Evans and Godwin on the team at some point. The money needs to be on the field playing at a high level, not padding retirement savings accounts. I love both guys, especially Evans, but reality needs to trump wishful thinking.
November 7th, 2025 at 1:01 pm
A big reason this team is continually hit so hard by injuries is Licht’s draft tendency. He drafts so many small players that, early on look good, but then inevitably get hurt. I know this site praises everything Licht does, but maybe other GMs pass on Licht’s “gems” because they know they won’t hold up long term.
Kancey
McMillan
Bucky
AWJ
Kam Johnson
Tez
Izien
November 8th, 2025 at 7:49 am
It was a loyalty spend.
November 8th, 2025 at 7:52 am
Otten and Evans are huge and get injured all the time. The bigger they are the harder they fall Dickerson