Chris Godwin was always expected to miss the start of the regular season as he recovers from multiple offseason ankle surgeries. However, the expectation was that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers would place him on the PUP list to open the season. With Godwin part of the 53-man active roster, this could create a difficult situation for fantasy football managers looking to stash him until he returns.
Buccaneers Keep Chris Godwin Active: What’s the Smart Fantasy Football Draft Strategy?
Historically, fantasy managers are often overly optimistic about injuries. We don’t have to go that far back in time to see an example. Just last season, we were drafting Jonathon Brooks confidently in the middle rounds with the expectation he would return from his torn ACL sometime in October. Brooks wound up missing the first three months of the season. Then, he played in just three games before retearing his ACL.
While it was unfortunate the way things played out for Brooks, fantasy managers drafted the Carolina Panthers rookie running back knowing they could stash him on IR until he returned. We are doing the same thing this season with Brandon Aiyuk. The problem with Godwin is that we may not be able to stash him on IR.
Evidently, the Bucs want Godwin to be able to practice with the team while he finalizes his recovery. He already passed his physical, which suggests he’s not too far away from getting back on the field. Therefore, the team opted not to place him on the PUP list to start the season.
It’s a curious decision because it costs the team a roster spot for a player we know will miss at least four weeks, according to its own general manager.
Bucs GM Jason Licht tells @TKras that Chris Godwin will miss at least the first month of the season. Tristan Wirfs could return sooner.
📸 Getty #WeAreTheKrewe pic.twitter.com/uONgV6th6A
— 95.3 WDAE & AM620 (@953WDAE) August 28, 2025
This could be a problem for fantasy managers. If you drafted Godwin intending to stash him on IR, you may not be able to.
Platforms like Yahoo and Sleeper have been generous with player designations. When it is announced that a player will miss multiple weeks, the platforms often list that player as “out,” enabling him to remain legally in IR spots until he returns to practice.
Yahoo (and Sleeper) currently list Godwin as questionable, which is not an official designation but one the platforms assign to a player who is limited or misses practice prior to the final injury report.
It is certainly possible that, in the wake of GM Jason Licht’s statement, the platforms will adjust Godwin’s status to “out” as he is 100% not playing in Week 1. However, it is entirely possible they don’t do this until Friday’s final injury report.
If they choose to go this route, fantasy managers will have to navigate Godwin’s status week-to-week like any other week-to-week injury, even though we know he’s missing multiple weeks.
That means Godwin won’t be eligible for an IR spot until he is officially ruled out on Fridays ahead of gamedays. Then, on Tuesday morning, he will revert to questionable, which will require fantasy managers to either drop another player to remove him from IR or be locked from making pickups on Yahoo and making roster adjustments entirely on Sleeper until he is once again officially listed as “out” the following Friday.
As we approach the biggest fantasy draft weekend of the summer, fantasy managers need to consider whether it’s worth it to stash Godwin, knowing the risk that we might have to play this IR spot game every week until he returns. It is much easier to draft and stash Aiyuk, who can immediately be placed on IR, allowing fantasy managers to grab another player.
