The Tampa Bay Buccaneers were in a tough situation going into the Monday Night Football game with their three top receivers headlining their injury report. Chris Godwin was ruled out before the game, while Mike Evans and Emeke Egbuka both played through hamstring injuries. The Buccaneers fell to the Detroit Lions with a final score of 9-24.
Godwin returned in early October from a left ankle dislocation that ended his 2024 season, however is back on the sidelines with a left fibular injury. The Buccaneers report that the new issue is in a different spot in the lower leg. The reality of ankle dislocations like Godwin’s last year is that there is a possibility of ongoing vulnerability to injury that may be related to how the surgery and healing changed their strength and movement patterns. Some examples of other injuries after ankle dislocations are Dak Prescott’s calf strain in 2020 and Ronald Darby’s ACL injury in 2018. Analyses of offensive players returning from ankle fractures showed a 15% decrease in performance in the year following their injury based on yards gained and touchdowns. (1)
Evans and Egbuka both played in the Monday Night Football game, but at less than 100% health. Egbuka finished the game with 4 catches for 58 yards. Evans had some great opportunities in the first half but failed to log a catch before going down after dropping a pass a few minutes before half time. He was quickly ruled out for the remainder of the game with a concussion. After the game the team announced that he also broke his collarbone on the same play. If Evans has the collarbone fixed surgically with a plate and screws the recovery typically ranges from 8-16 weeks. Surgical treatment isn’t always necessary, however many athletes regain function faster with surgery than without. The good news is that our injury tracking data shows no significant drop in on-field production in the games after returning from these injuries compared to pre-injury levels. Hopefully this is true for Evans since his recovery timeline aligns closely with the start of playoffs.
The Bucs will look to Tez Johnson and Sterling Shepard to play larger roles, hope the Egbuka stays healthy and that Godwin is ready to go soon to give Mayfield more options for where to go with the football. Tampa Bay will try to bounce back against the division rival Saints in week 8.
1. Desai SS, Dent CS, Hodgens BH, et al. Epidemiology and Outcomes of Ankle Injuries in the National Football League. Orthopaedic Journal of Sports Medicine. 2022;10(6). doi:10.1177/23259671221101056
