Buccaneers HC Todd Bowles hopes Chris Godwin will be ready to play in Week 1

Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach Todd Bowles hopes Chris Godwin will be ready to play by Week One of the 2025 NFL season. During Week Seven of the 2024 season, Godwin suffered an ankle dislocation during the team's matchup with the Baltimore Ravens.

Godwin was carted off the field and would eventually require season-ending surgery to repair the ailment. According to Buccaneers reporter Scott Smith, Bowles feels Godwin will be back and fully healthy for Week One of the upcoming season.

"I'm hoping he's on the field Week One. I'll have more to know about that after [this] month goes on - see how he feels when he gets running and practicing and everything else," Smith tweeted on Tuesday.

Godwin was on pace to have a fantastic season through the seven games he managed to play before going down with an injury last year. He caught 50 passes for 576 yards and five touchdowns. Despite the injury, Tampa Bay seems fully invested in Godwin and is confident in his ability to continue the same caliber of play he produced before the injury.

The organization inked Godwin to a three-year, $66 million extension in March. Now, he'll return in 2025 opposite Mike Evans and continue to catch passes from Baker Mayfield as the Buccaneers attempt to return to the playoffs.

Tampa Bay looks to make deeper playoff push in 2025 with Godwin back

NFL: Tampa Bay Buccaneers at New Orleans Saints - Source: Imagn

Godwin was certainly missed during the Buccaneers' playoff push last season. The team finished with a regular-season record of 10-7, winning the NFC South division. In their wild-card matchup against the Washington Commanders, Tampa Bay came up short against Jayden Daniels and Washington, falling 23–20. Had the team's offense been fully healthy with Godwin on the field to complement Mike Evans, perhaps the outcome would have been different.

Tampa Bay hasn't made any significant free-agent signings this offseason. However, the organization has focused on retaining key pieces, inking Godwin, guard Ben Bredeson, and linebacker Lavonte David to contract extensions.

The Bucs did sign linebacker Haason Reddick away from the New York Jets. However, he is coming off a down year statistically after only playing 10 games last season. He sat out the first six games due to a contract holdout. Now, general manager Jason Licht must look to the 2025 NFL draft later this month to help improve the roster for this upcoming season's campaign.