“I mean, I think that’s the best-case scenario, right? The best-case scenario. For everyone involved. Everything lines up. That’s what you’re looking for,” said Godwin, who was eminent in the NFL with 50 receptions, and whose five touchdowns were secured for the third most in the league through the first seven weeks of the season.
Godwin had triumphed over a season-ending, career-threatening trauma earlier, tearing an ACL and MCL in age 15 of the 2021 season, and then returning to performing for age 1 of 2022. He reached 1,000 receiving yards in 2022 and 2023, but it wasn’t until training camp in 2024 that he said he actually felt like himself again.
“It’s a very different injury and obviously I’ve never been through this before, but I’m confident that the people I’m going to work with will help me recover,” said Godwin, who underwent closure surgery. “And the most important thing for me is to make sure that it’s safe, that it’s strong and stable, and that I’m not at risk of re-injuring myself. But in the beginning there are a lot of things you can do to prepare yourself to do it.” an acceleration later in the rehab process, just doing some of the little things or little extra things.”
When Godwin was taken off the farm a while back on “Monday Night Football,” he was captured on television cameras telling athletic educator John Ames, “Back to work.” He went viral on social media, with fans praising his presence of mind, calmness and composure despite the horrific trauma that ESPN chose not to show in the quick replay.
“That’s who I am, I guess,” Godwin said. “Because that’s where my mind went. I wasn’t focused on the why, because it wouldn’t matter if someone explained it to me, it wouldn’t have mattered. All I could do is control what I could control. And that was back to work. And obviously he had already gone through a rehab process. I don’t want to go through one of those again, but that’s where we were, so we went back to work.
Godwin performed at his Crew Godwin Foot Gala on Monday night to raise money for animals suffering from Storm Milton and other natural disasters. He arrived on a mobility scooter dressed in a custom swimsuit that included shorts to deal with his 3-pound splint.
“I’m fine. I think the most important thing is that my spirits are up. That’s the hardest thing, during periods like this, when you’re injured, because you can’t move, you can’t do what you want.” “Honey, you are in pain often, most of the time, and you have to rebuild yourself,” Godwin said. “So I think obviously this is the side that most people, other than athletes, don’t really get to see. And it’s a difficult part. So trying to keep your spirits up is the most important thing. And then , when the pain goes away AND the rehab begins, and then it’s time to really lock in, play again.”
Godwin said more than $15,000 in donations came into his treasury from well-wishing fans who were saddened to see his trauma, which came in a version of a hip drop that was blocked this offseason.
“Honestly, it really touched my heart,” Godwin said of the donations. “I think probably what lifted me up the most was the outpouring of love. And especially in that way, because people didn’t have to do that. They didn’t have to take their hard-earned money.” and donate it to our cause. They could have just said, “Get well soon,” and that would have meant the same thing.
“But it’s really special that the population took this and aimed to help others through our substructure. I’m very grateful for that. Very grateful to be in Tampa and have the people that I do here. It’s this type of department place to be and cases like this really put it into our view.
More than a dozen teammates (Mike Evans, Rakim Jarrett, Ryan Miller, Kameron Johnson, Cade Otton, Anthony Nelson, Jamel Dean, Robert Hainsey, Tristan Wirfs, Ben Bredeson, Luke Goedeke, Justin Skule, Raiqwon O’Neal and Elijah Klein) – appeared to support Godwin on Monday night. Several expressed disappointment at not being able to secure a victory Sunday against the Atlanta Falcons, a game Godwin still managed to attend with his wife, Mariah, watching from the stands.
Evans, the Bucs’ other star receiver who is still tied for the league lead with six touchdowns despite suffering a hamstring injury in Week 7, is not expected to return until after the Tampa bye. in Week 11.
Godwin believes his team will get by at 4-4.
“There are incorrect doubts in my thoughts,” Godwin said. “There’s a lot of top guys there. They’re smart, they’re successful. It’s like changes had to be made, but they gave us guys who could really step into those roles… I’m sorry. I think it’s cruel. “I see the way the boys act. “I know the team’s intentions, that’s how the season is going.”
