Inside Chris Godwin’s emotional return to the playing field

TAMPA — On his way to the locker room before Sunday’s game, Chris Godwin paused for a moment to kiss wife Mariah and infant son Ace. The exchange was brief, almost ordinary, yet it marked the closing of an extraordinary chapter: the receiver’s return to the same field where, 11 months earlier, a dislocated ankle had threatened to derail everything.

“Honestly, it was mixed emotions,” Godwin said after the 31-25 loss to the Eagles. ”I’m extremely grateful to be out there. It was a very emotional moment for me. It’s been a long journey.

“I’m extremely grateful to be back on the field, to get back out there with my teammates and just have the opportunity to play again. I’m so fortunate to do that. Then, just having some uncharacteristic plays and expecting myself to play better, but you know, I’ve got to knock the rust off and I’m excited about the opportunity to learn from the mistakes that I made and fix them.”

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Godwin finished with only three catches for 26 yards while tying rookie Emeka Egbuka for the most targets with 10.

Mayfield’s fourth-quarter interception in the end zone was targeted for Godwin.

“I thought he did great,” Mayfield said of Godwin. ”I think he’s only going to continue to get back to his true form with the more reps he gets, the more confidence he builds. But he’s obviously a guy we lean on in critical situations, a guy that plays a lot of ball, does unbelievable things for us. It was great to have him back."

Godwin’s return couldn’t have been more timely. The Bucs will be missing Mike Evans for three to four games after he sustained a hamstring strain last week against the Jets.

Clearly, Egbuka is the Bucs’ No. 1 receiver by default with injuries to Evans and Jalen McMillan. He responded by leading the team Sunday with four catches for 101 yards, including a 77-yard touchdown.

That’s the kind of workload Godwin was used to having before he suffered the grotesque injury against the Ravens last October.

When Godwin was sprawled on the field that night, his ankle turned in a direction he’d never seen, a lot of things whirred through his mind.

He thought about Mariah, who was eight months pregnant with their first child. He wondered what it would do to his future with the Bucs during a contract year.

He thought about his dad, who watched him win a Super Bowl on this field before dying of cancer on Jan. 21, 2024.

That’s why Godwin added “Jr.” to the back of his jersey that he wore for the first time Sunday.

“Obviously, my dad meant a ton to me and I still miss him every day,” Godwin said. ”Just being able to have the opportunity to represent him and to represent my family name, it’s so special to me.

“To hear ‘Godwin Jr.’ over the PA ... and even ‘The Manster,’ which growing up I got accustomed to my dad saying, it brought a tear to my eye.”

Godwin also had gratitude for the Bucs, who signed him after he tore his ACL in 2021 and again in March after the ankle injury.

Remember, Godwin was leading the NFL with 50 catches in 2024 and had five touchdowns. It may take him some time to get back to that level.

He will get better with more practices, more games. But don’t discount what a big first step Sunday was for Godwin on that surgically-repaired foot.

“We’re all excited he’s back,” Egbuka said. ”But he has that mentality he wants to do more and he’s going to do more."

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