TAMPA, Fla. — Tampa Bay Buccaneers Pro Bowl wide receiver Chris Godwin suffered a torn ACL during Sunday night’s 9-0 loss to the New Orleans Saints and will miss the remainder of the season, coach Bruce Arians announced Monday.
Godwin suffered the knee injury in the second quarter while falling awkwardly after a collision with New Orleans safety P.J. Williams.
“You feel bad or him because he was having such a great year, and the type of hit it was – totally legal but I think that’s one of the things we have to look into in the offseason,” Arians said.
“We’re so concerned about hitting people in the head, that we’re getting a lot of knee injuries now because of that type of tackle. But it is legal and wasn’t a bad play at all. But yeah, I just feel bad for Chris.”
Early indications were that it was an MCL injury, and the team was hopeful he might return for the playoffs. But further testing revealed a torn ACL.
Godwin finishes the season with 98 receptions for 1,103 yards and five touchdowns, passing teammate Mike Evans (96) for the second-most receptions in franchise history.
On a night they were looking to clinch their first NFC South title since 2007, the Buccaneers also lost Pro Bowl receiver Mike Evans in the first half, and running back Leonard Fournette in the second to hamstring injuries.
Inside linebacker Lavonte David also left in the fourth quarter with a foot injury, and defensive lineman Patrick O’Connor, a core player on special teams, left the game with a knee injury.
Evans, who is second in the NFL with 11 touchdown receptions, was injured after a leaping third-down catch over the middle working against cornerback Marshon Lattimore.
Evans has a strained hamstring, is week to week and has a chance to play Sunday, a source told ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Arians didn’t have a timetable on Fournette but stated that it’s a role reversal from last year, when Ronald Jones — then the starter — suffered a broken finger that required surgery, was placed on the Reserve/COVID-19 list and suffered a quad injury at the start of the playoffs.
“It’s his time now to do what happened for Leonard last year when he got hurt,” Arians said. “I’ve got all the confidence in the world. He ran great, caught the ball good, and I think going forward, it’s his job right now.
Arians didn’t have updates on all players, as some have had to wait to undergo MRIs until Tuesday due to swelling.
At receiver, the Bucs were already without receiver Breshad Perriman, who was placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list Friday, and Antonio Brown, who was serving a three-game suspension but will rejoin the team on Monday, general manager Jason Licht announced before kickoff.
“We’ll wait and see. I think B.P. should have a chance to get back,” Arians said. “Don’t know when. And then we’ll start looking at all the pieces and put the game plan together.”
When asked if he’d go outside the organization in search of possible help at receiver, Arians said, “I’m OK with what we have now.”
As far as Brown, the team will evaluate him in practice this week to determine what his workload may look like.