Tampa Bay Buccaneers Pro Bowl wide receiver Chris Godwin suffered a season-ending knee injury in Week 15 last year, and has been working hard to get back to full strength in time for the start of the 2022 season.
Godwin has shown encouraging signs throughout training camp, such as participating in full-team drills, and shedding his knee brace. On Wednesday’s initial injury report for Sunday’s season opener against the Dallas Cowboys, Godwin was listed as a full participant.
That said, Godwin is still going through practices wearing an orange non-contact jersey.
“No, he still has on an orange jersey,” Bucs head coach Todd Bowles told the media Wednesday when asked about Godwin potentially being cleared for contact. “Like I said, until they say something, he’s practicing getting better and he’s confident every day, so we’ll see where that goes.”
Bowles said he’ll continue to wait for the medical staff to give the go-ahead on Godwin’s status, though part of the decision will be up to the receiver himself.
“Probably a little of both,” Bowles said. “I think I told him in training camp, when he gets well, no matter when he gets well, until he takes a hit below the waist – which you cannot do in practice – we can bang him around with shoulder pads and do everything we need to do, but until he gets hit on it from the side or front, which we cannot simulate, and then he gets up – I don’t care if it’s five years from now, you’re not going to feel any different. It’s confidence that you run and catch every day and you can be normal, but until you get hit down there, no one’s really going to know. So, we’ll see.”
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