The new vibe has Godwin sharing some insight.
It feels as though the Tampa Bay Bucs haven’t had wide receiver Chris Godwin at 100-percent for quite some time. After suffering a significant knee injury against the Saints during a December game in 2021, Godwin returned to the field last season — albeit nowhere near full health.
But having some kind of Godwin on the field is better than having no Godwin.
This season, the 27-year-old feels his health is much better than where it was last season as he feels he is closer to where he was prior to when he suffered the knee injury.
“I think I’m very close to it,” Godwin said. “I feel like a lot of my explosion is coming back. I feel very comfortable with the things that I’m working on. It feels really good to be able to have the opportunity to work on my skill development this offseason, as opposed to just working to rehab an injury.”
Despite not being at 100-percent, Godwin still hauled in 104 receptions for 1,023 yards and three touchdowns. He had future Hall of Famer Tom Brady throwing him the ball then so he’ll face another challenge outside of returning to full health. And that is getting used to another quarterback throwing him the football.
The veteran receiver talked about what it’s like to now be working with Kyle Trask and Baker Mayfield.
“Honestly, it’s just different. Any time you have a new quarterback, it’s different. Obviously, we don’t know who that guy is going to be yet but it doesn’t feel weird – it just feels like you’re getting reps with a bunch of guys. I get to work on my own skill development, get to work with the receivers and then for us, we have to handle our business regardless of who’s throwing the ball. We kind of discuss those things – let’s make the play when the ball comes our way, let’s make the play. I think Kyle and Baker have both done a great job so far – it’s a friendly competition, there’s no animosity. You see them helping each other – they talk through a bunch of things. I think we have a really good environment on our team right now. We’re all really just trying to pull the rope in the same direction.”
The Bucs wrap up this current set of OTAs Thursday before returning to the practice fields on May 30.