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The Buccaneers' Godwin is likely out for a year, Evans until after the bye

The Buccaneers' Godwin is likely out for a year, Evans until after the bye

Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Chris Godwin is undergoing surgery for his dislocated ankle injury and will “likely miss the entire year,” while wide receiver Mike Evans will likely be out until after the team's bye in Week 11 because of his hamstring injury, coaches said Todd Bowles on Tuesday.

Both of the team's star wide receivers were injured in Monday night's 41-31 loss to the Baltimore Ravens.

Bowles left open the possibility that Godwin could return later this season. Evans, meanwhile, was “hurting quite a bit” on Monday, Bowles said.

With 1:04 left in regulation, Godwin caught a pass from Baker Mayfield and was tackled from behind by center Roquan Smith, with Godwin's left ankle appearing to get caught under Smith.

Smith's tackle appears to have all the elements of a hip-drop tackle and is under review by the NFL, sources told ESPN's Adam Schefter on Tuesday. If it's a hip-drop tackle, Smith faces a fine.

Godwin and Evans entered the game tied for the lead with five touchdown receptions in Tampa Bay's first six games, with Mayfield calling them the “big heartbeat of this team.”

Bowles defended keeping Godwin and other starters in the game even though it was out of reach with two onside kicks already attempted and no timeouts left. He said: “We have no doubts” and pointed out that the team was already without Evans.

Evans, who entered the game with a hamstring strain but was determined to play, caught a 25-yard touchdown pass from Mayfield on the first drive, becoming just the 11th player in NFL history to reach 100 receiving touchdowns.

But in the second quarter, Mayfield tried to find Evans in the end zone on a 25-yard go route to Brandon Stephens, and Evans couldn't contain the pass. Evans fell to the ground, grabbing his leg as he writhed in pain.

Evans and Godwin rank 1st and 2nd in career receiving yards for the Bucs. Evans had hoped to tie Jerry Rice for the most consecutive 1,000-yard seasons this season after recording 10 yards in his first 10 seasons. To this point, Evans has missed just nine regular season games, only seven of which were due to injury or illness.

But for Godwin, this is the second serious, career-threatening injury he has dealt with after suffering a torn ACL and ACL in Week 15 of the 2021 season. Godwin said he finally felt like he was back to himself this summer, and several teammates and coaches took notice, too.

ESPN's Jenna Laine contributed to this report.

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