If the reality of how bad the injuries suffered by Tampa Bay Buccaneers stars Bucky Irving and Chris Godwin were, this might be the week that finally seals the deal.
Irving and Godwin were ruled out for a massive Week 11 road game against the Buffalo Bills on Friday, marking Tampa Bay’s eighth game without Godwin this season due to a fibula injury and their sixth game without Irving due to a shoulder injury.
“Bucs coach Todd Bowles told reporters that RB Bucky Irving and WR Chris Godwin are both out for Sunday,” NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport wrote on his official X account on Friday, November 14. “But progress this week … “
The Buccaneers are 6-3 and still in first place in the NFC South Division but staring down a killer string of road games against Super Bowl contenders, and doing so right after a disappointing, 28-23 home loss to the New England Patriots in Week 10.
After facing the Bills, the Buccaneers head to the West Coast to face the Los Angeles Rams — arguably the NFC favorite at this point in the season
“Despite logging three straight days of practice, Buccaneers RB Bucky Irving (shoulder) has been ruled OUT and won’t play Sunday vs the Bills,” NFL reporter Arye Pulli wrote on his official X account. “Chris Godwin has also been ruled out once again.”
Questions To Be Answered About Godwin’s Injury
Anyone unlucky enough to see Godwin’s gruesome injury on Monday Night Football against the Baltimore Ravens 13 months ago probably knew right then it was going to be awhile before he saw a football field again.
Godwin underwent surgery on his dislocated left ankle and things checked out afterward to the point that not only did the Buccaneers sign him to a new, 3-year, $66 million contract in March but the Patriots went so far as to try and sign Godwin for a deal worth a reported $90 million.
Problems started to arise when news broke Godwin needed a second surgery to fix the ankle — further extending the amount of time he needed to recover. Still, the Buccaneers brought him back for a Week 4 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles and a Week 5 win over the Seattle Seahawks before putting him back on the shelf after “irritation” with that same injury.
Godwin’s injury has now cost him 19 combined regular season and playoff games — 2 more than a whole regular season.
The big questions that remain are what went wrong with the surgeries, why the Buccaneers still signed Godwin to such a large contract if there were problems and why did they bring him back so early instead of just putting him on injured reserve?
Irving’s Biggest Concern: No Contact on Shoulder
Irving’s injury recovery process got off to a weird start, which included him not coming clean that he was hurt when he should have.
“Turns out that Buccaneers RB Bucky Irving’s shoulder injury, which he did not report to the team until Tuesday last week, is more of an issue than his sprained foot, per sources,” ESPN’s Adam Schefter wrote on his official X account on October 5. “Irving is dealing with a shoulder subluxation that is expected to sideline him at least two weeks. Irving will not play today vs. the Seahawks and he’s not expected back for next week’s game vs. the 49ers, either.”
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post Buccaneers Make Final Decisions on Chris Godwin and Bucky Irving appeared first on Heavy Sports.