The Bucs don’t seem to be lacking answers for why Chris Godwin Jr. hasn’t been featured more. They just haven’t shown much ability to fix it.
Godwin, long one of the most trusted pieces in Tampa Bay and the second-best wide receiver in franchise history, has drifted into a strangely small role in Zac Robinson’s offense. That’s not because the 30-year-old suddenly lost his ability.
He came into camp looking sharper and more explosive, the kind of offseason vibe that usually points to a bounce-back year. Instead, the production has flattened out, and the passing game has not put him in position to do much damage.
The numbers tell the story in plain language. Godwin is sitting at 9.4 yards per catch, which is a career low.
That’s even below the 9.8 yards per catch he posted in 2022 while coming back from a torn ACL in Byron Leftwich’s offense. The difference then was volume: 104 catches.
This season, he’s simply not getting the ball often enough.
That drought has stretched into a rough run of games. Godwin has now gone seven straight contests without reaching 50 receiving yards, a stretch he hadn’t experienced longer than three games at any point since the first half of his rookie season in 2017.
Robinson was asked about the issue this week and said the Bucs know they need to do better getting Godwin involved. He pointed to the overall state of the pass game and the attention to detail, while also making it clear the entire operation needs to sharpen up.
“I think he ended up with a decent amount of targets - I don’t know what exactly it was last week,” Robinson said. “But yeah, I mean, again, we’ve got to get all these guys going.
I think it first starts with our level of detail across the board. You know, we’ve got to be a lot better.
I mean, we had a pretty tough meeting, honestly, on Monday just talking about the pass game and the missed opportunities and the lack of detail that we showed.
“We’ve got to get ‘C.G.’ going. Obviously, coverage can dictate certain things.
Route detail and the timing of when things are happening, those things matter as well. We’ve got to all get on the same page because the pass game has not been good enough by any standard, and we’ve got to get a lot better.
It starts with me, and it starts with the rest of the guys knowing that they can execute at a higher level.”
That kind of answer has become familiar. Robinson keeps saying the same things - get the playmakers more chances, tighten up the details, clean up the timing - but the offense hasn’t changed much on Sundays.
Sunday against the Panthers could force the issue. Emeka Egbuka did not practice Wednesday or Thursday and is on the injury report with a concussion and a foot injury.
If he can’t play, there will be targets that have to go somewhere. Godwin would be the obvious place to start.
Baker Mayfield was also asked about Godwin on Thursday, with the quarterback returning after a three-game absence. Mayfield said the two need to sync up better and get the ball out to Godwin faster.
“Chris [Godwin Jr.] and I have such a good relationship,” Mayfield said. “There’s been a ton of things that I think I can get the ball to him quicker, same with when ‘J.D.’
[Jalon Daniels] was playing. We have to feature him more, but it comes down to also just being on the same page, executing the pass details.
“I mean, that meeting that we had, just making sure that we’re in the right spots at the right time. Chris is a true pro; he knows how to handle that stuff.
He’s a guy that…You just [have] to get him more touches. He’s not an easy guy to bring down.
It’s not going to be flashy, but he’s a guy that if you get him more and more involved, your offense is going to thrive.”
For Tampa Bay, the timing could hardly be more urgent. At 1-5, a win on Sunday keeps the season hanging by a thread. A loss would put the Bucs in a far more dangerous spot and could push the front office toward bigger moves, including the possibility of a fire sale.
Godwin would be part of that conversation. His $22 million salary next season is not guaranteed, which makes him a possible tradeable piece if the team decides to get younger at receiver and shift money elsewhere.
For now, though, Godwin’s focus is much simpler. He wants the ball in the right place at the right time. The Bucs just have to deliver it.
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