Bruce Arians Says Buccaneers WR Chris Godwin Done For Year With Torn ACL

It's terrible news for both Godwin and the Bucs.

What started off as a hopeful report for Chris Godwin's knee has turned into a nightmare for the Buccaneers and their fans.

Bruce Arians corrected Monday's earlier reports of Godwin having a sprained MCL  when he told reporters that Godwin's injury is actually a torn ACL. Per Arians, the fifth-year receiver will miss the rest of the season - meaning both the regular season and the postseason- as he recovers from the injury.

"Chris [Godwin] has an ACL and he's done," Arians told reporters. So, he'll be done for the season. The rest of the guys are still getting MRIs and we're waiting to see."

This is a huge loss for the Bucs offense. Godwin's abilities as a receiver and a blocker cannot be replicated by anyone else on the roster. Godwin is Tom Brady's favorite target, evidenced by Godwin's team-leading 127 targets through 14 games. The former Penn State Nittany Lion also had a career-best 98 receptions that went for 1,103 yards and five touchdowns before going down with the injury.

How the Bucs move forward with the slot position remains to be seen. Mike Evans currently has the second-most snaps out of the slot, but he's dealing with a hamstring injury and there's no exact timeline that tell us when he'll return. Tyler Johnson has the third-most snaps out of the slot with 134 and Scotty Miller logged 18 snaps out of the slot in Week 15, so those two are likely to take over with a little bit of Antonio Brown sprinkled in. Evans will probably rotate inside and outside when he gets back, but that's only speculation at this point.

Typically, this type of injury takes around 9-12 months before a player fully recovers, which will certainly have an effect on Godwin's pending free agency, no matter who signs him. 

But at the end of the day, his health is what's most important and that's what needs to be taken care of first and foremost.

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