Bucs WR Godwin Looking – And Playing – Like His Old Self

It’s been a long road back for Godwin in rehabbing his torn ACL and rounding back into form. It’s taken almost a year, but Godwin has looked – and played – like his old self in the Bucs’ last two games.

In a 21-16 win over Seattle in Germany and in the last game against Cleveland, a 23-17 overtime loss, Godwin looked like a $20 million man. He caught six passes for 71 yards and his first touchdown of the season against the Seahawks and added another against the Browns. Godwin also had his first 100-yard game of 2022, catching 12 of 13 targets for 110 yards.

Quarterback Tom Brady is thrilled that Godwin is back to being his old self as the Bucs need him for a critical stretch run.

“Super happy for him and proud of him to get back to this point,” Brady said. “I think it’s a very tough injury to go through, ACL reconstruction. And a contact one like that, it’s a lot of physical rehab, I think there’s a lot of mental rehab to go through as well. I can just tell his confidence in how he’s feeling, he does so much for us when he’s out there. The guy’s a winner, he’s a clutch player, he comes up big in every moment.

“You always know it’s going to take some time even when you get back to feel like yourself. I’ve had that experience where yeah, you’re out there, but it doesn’t feel quite like you had a full offseason to prepare. You were rehabbing, you weren’t, I would say, performance-enhancement training. You were rehabbing. There’s a difference. So, you’ve got to get to that point where okay, now you’re back to just trying to be a better football player, not to be rehabbing. Chris has worked really hard. Everyone believes in Chris, loves him and is so happy when he has success. He deserves it.”

Bucs WR Godwin Faces Saints For The First Time Since His Injury

After sitting out the preseason and most of training camp, Godwin was able to suit up for the Bucs in their 19-3 road win at Dallas to kick off the 2022 season. But he suffered a hamstring injury in the win after catching three passes for 35 yards against the Cowboys that caused him to miss the next two games at New Orleans and against Green Bay.

Monday night will be the first time Godwin has faced the team that prematurely ended his 2021 campaign. Godwin had six catches for 49 yards – in the first quarter – before Saints safety P.J. Williams went low and took out Godwin’s right knee last December. Williams is out – ironically with a knee injury – and won’t face Godwin and the Bucs on Monday Night Football.

Godwin leads the Bucs with 60 catches, but his 585 receiving yards ranks second on the team to Mike Evans’ 702 yards. Godwin’s slow recovery throughout the season has limited his ability to separate and get yards after the catch. He’s averaging just 9.8 yards per reception, which is the lowest mark of his career. Godwin averaged 11.3 yards per catch last year and had a 12.9-yard average in helping the Bucs win a Super Bowl in 2020.

While it hasn’t been the season that Godwin and the Bucs hoped it would be for their new $20 million man, the sixth-year receiver did make Bucs history by moving up to No. 2 on the all-time receiving yards list behind Mike Evans. Godwin moved past Mark Carrier (5,018 yards) and now has 5,228 receiving yards heading into the Saints game. Evans just hit 10,000 career receiving yards (10,003) in last week’s loss at Cleveland.

Tampa Bay (5-6) enters the Monday Night Football clash against New Orleans (4-8) with a lead in the division thanks to Atlanta’s (5-8) loss to Pittsburgh on Sunday. The Bucs still have a solid chance to win the NFC South and get an automatic playoff berth. Of course, a win over the division rival Saints would be a huge step in the right direction for the Bucs toward that postseason goal.

And it would be sweet revenge for Godwin in the process.