TAMPA, Fla. — The play was a simple receiver screen. In 2022′s first regular-season game, against the Cowboys, on the first offensive snap, Chris Godwin took one step back to catch the ball, then moved forward with the rest of his career.
Bucs offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich had planned it for weeks. Godwin — who was returning from torn anterior cruciate and medial collateral ligaments in his right knee suffered while making a catch against the Saints on Dec. 19, 2021 — was going to get the ball in his hands as soon as possible. The wide receiver needed to take a hit below the waist and heal the biggest mental scar left from the injury.
Godwin caught the pass from Tom Brady, got a block from receiver Mike Evans and raced 24 yards across midfield for a first down.
