Buccaneers WR Chris Godwin out for remainder of season with torn ACL
Tom Brady apparently will be without his top target for the rest of the season
Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Chris Godwin suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament and will miss the remainder of the season, including the playoffs, coach Bruce Arians said Monday.
Godwin suffered the injury during the Buccaneers' 9-0 loss Sunday night to the New Orleans Saints. He was hit low by Saints defensive back P.J. Williams on a catch over the middle and was ruled out for the remainder of the contest.
“You feel bad for 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 at in the offseason,” Arians said in a news conference.
“We’re so concerned about hitting people in the head and 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.”
Godwin leads the Buccaneers with 98 catches for 1,103 receiving yards and five touchdown catches.
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Fellow top wide receiver Mike Evans also left the game with a hamstring injury and did not return. Evans has a strained hamstring and has a chance to play Sunday against the Carolina Panthers, ESPN's Adam Schefter reported.
Wide receiver Antonio Brown is set to rejoin the team this week after serving a three-game suspension for misleading about his COVID-19 vaccination status.
“It’s in the best interest of our football team,” Arians said of Brown and safety Mike Edwards returning. “Both of those guys have served their time and we’ll welcome them back.”
Arians bemoaned the various injuries after the loss, which marked the first shutout defeat for Brady in 15 years.
"It hurts more losing all the players we lost," Arians said in a postgame news conference. "We lost about seven starters in this game, so I'm more concerned about that right now."
Godwin, 25, is set to become a free agent in 2022 after playing on the franchise tag this year.
The Buccaneers currently are the No. 3 seed in the NFC but have not clinched a playoff berth.
Follow USA TODAY Sports' Michael Middlehurst-Schwartz on Twitter @MikeMSchwartz.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Chris Godwin injury: Buccaneers WR out for rest of year with torn ACL
