The Tampa Bay Buccaneers gear up for their Week 12 home matchup against the Los Angeles Rams while continuing to manage injuries throughout their offensive roster. Chris Godwin has been absent since Week 5 with a fibula issue. Will fantasy football managers finally have their veteran receiver available for the stretch run?
Chris Godwin Injury Update
Godwin missed the season’s opening three weeks recuperating from an ankle fracture sustained late in the 2024 campaign. He made his 2025 debut in Week 4, immediately seeing substantial playing time with an 80% snap share. He appeared healthy and displayed no visible limitations from the ankle injury.​
Week 5 delivered similar workload and snap counts, with Godwin again playing close to 80% of Tampa Bay’s offensive snaps. However, at some point during that contest, he sustained a new injury reported as a fibula issue.​
Godwin hadn’t practiced or played since Week 5 until last week. The fibula injury has proven obstinate, keeping him sidelined for six consecutive games. Head coach Todd Bowles addressed the injury previously, clarifying it’s not season-ending, which provides some long-term optimism but minimal clarity on a specific return timeline.​
Recent reports surfaced that Godwin is expected to remain out until at least late November. According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, the Buccaneers are exercising extreme caution with Godwin given his injury history. Fowler appeared on SportsCenter and revealed that Godwin will likely remain sidelined until “late November-December”.​
“So with him coming back with the injury last year as well, and he aggravated his fibula early in the year, they just don’t want to press it with him,” said Fowler. “They’re thinking late November-December with Chris Godwin. So they’ll take it week-to-week with him, see if he can practice on Friday, but he was not out there Thursday”.​
However, Godwin returned to practice last week for the first time since the injury. He participated all three days in a limited capacity, marking meaningful progress in his recovery. The Bucs held walkthroughs all three days rather than full practices, which means no contact occurred.​
It remains unclear if Godwin would be able to participate in padded practices. Despite practicing throughout the week, Godwin was ruled out on Friday for the Bills game.​
Bowles provided an update Friday on Godwin and fellow injured offensive weapon Bucky Irving. According to Greg Auman: “Bowles said Irving and Godwin made progress in their first week back at practice, but it’s not even a sure thing they’d be ready to play next week against the Rams. Clearly being careful with both before bringing them back”.​
On Monday, Bowles said “Irving and Godwin will be worked in more this week in practice and [he’ll] evaluate them at the end of the week.” It’s certainly better than reports of a setback and indicates progress, but it sounds as if we are still at least one more week away from Godwin returning.
Godwin’s Fantasy Outlook
The Bucs have been extremely shorthanded on offense without several key contributors available. Bucky Irving, Mike Evans, Jalen McMillan, and Godwin have all missed significant time, forcing Tampa Bay to rely heavily on depth pieces and role players.​
Rookie Tez Johnson and veteran Sterling Shepard have been called upon for increased roles in the receiving corps. Both players have done their best to fill the void, but neither possesses the talent or experience to truly replace what Godwin brings to the offense when healthy.​
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Emeka Egbuka remains the clear WR1 in Tampa Bay’s passing attack and should continue seeing all the volume he can handle for as long as the injury situation persists. The rookie receiver has stepped up admirably in the absence of both Godwin and Evans, who is on injured reserve with a broken collarbone.​
Baker Mayfield will also likely continue to lean more on tight end Cade Otton. The veteran has emerged as one of Mayfield’s most trusted targets, providing a reliable underneath option that’s particularly valuable given the receiver injuries.​
When and if Godwin does eventually return, he’ll immediately reclaim a significant role in Tampa Bay’s offense. Before the fibula injury, he was on pace to resume his status as one of the team’s primary receiving threats. His chemistry with Mayfield and ability to work all three levels of the field make him irreplaceable in this passing attack.​
