The Tampa Bay Buccaneers were flying high as the ship’s cannons fired in celebration of Mike Evans’ 100th career receiving touchdown in the first quarter against the Baltimore Ravens. At the time, Tampa sat at 4-2, thanks largely to the contributions of its Big Three on offense: Baker Mayfield, Evans, and Chris Godwin. 

Shortly after that historic start to the game, though, injuries would take the wind from the offense’s sails.

Evans would leave the game in the second quarter after severely aggravating a hamstring injury that he was playing through. Still, things would go from bad to worse. In the game’s final minute, Godwin’s left ankle was dislocated following a controversial hip drop tackle, ending what was trending toward being a career season for him and putting a bitter cherry on top of Monday Night’s Primetime loss at home. 

Prior to that game, Godwin incidentally laid out the blueprint for how the Buccaneers’ ship could stay afloat in the NFC South without him when asked about the team’s culture he’d helped build over the past eight seasons.

“It’s not [about] any one person; it’s a collective thing, and the more we can focus on that and bond together as a unit, the better off we’ll be moving forward,” Godwin said. “We have three running backs [this season] that have been 100 all-purpose yards, we’ve got a full receiver room of guys that can make plays and have made plays when their number is called, so… it’s all hands on deck.”

What The Fallen Stars Provided

Bucs WRs Chris Godwin and Mike Evans – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

It’s difficult to account for losing a single starter. However, it’s even more difficult to replace half your pass game, which is essentially what the Bucs must do after losing Mike Evans and Chris Godwin for the foreseeable future. 

Since 2017, Tampa has gone 1-3 in the rare instances where neither star has been able to suit up for a game, but now the team will be forced to try to improve that statistic. 

This season, Godwin played some of the best football of his career in the Cooper Kupp role of new offensive coordinator Liam Coen’s offense, finally seeming to recapture the explosiveness he lost after tearing his right ACL in 2021. 

“It just meant more for my journey,” Godwin told Pewter Report regarding overcoming such a serious injury. “It’s really tough to make it in the NFL, and it’s even tougher to stay here. Every year, new people come in trying to take your job. It’s a challenge to continue to perform at a high level, and I take pride in being able to.”

Through the first seven weeks, Godwin performed at the highest level in the league. He led the NFL in receptions (50) and receiving first downs (33). Godwin also ranked second in receiving yards (576) and was tied for third in receiving touchdowns (five).

“I knew he’d come back stronger,” Evans told Pewter Report. “He’s one of the best friends I’ve ever had, one of the hardest workers I’ve ever been around, an unbelievable pro and leader, so I’m very proud of him and honored that I get to be his teammate.”

In the aftermath of the injury, Godwin posted a heartfelt message on his Instagram.

Together, Godwin and Evans served as security blankets on the field as Baker Mayfield went from being cast off from multiple organizations to the franchise quarterback in Tampa, his fourth NFL team.

Since joining the Bucs last season, Mayfield has thrown for 6,589 yards and 52 touchdowns, including the playoffs. During that time, the duo of Evans and Godwin accounted for 52.7 percent of that yardage (3,470) and 53.8 percent of the touchdowns (28).

Now, without Evans expected to return until after the team’s Week 11 bye, Mayfield will have to perform with a much less proven wide receiver core, albeit one that head coach Todd Bowles and the rest of the locker room have expressed confidence in.

“Right now, we’re excited to see our young guys play…we think Mike is coming back…we think we’ll fare pretty well with these guys,” Bowles said without entirely shutting the door on the possibility of a trade. “There are guys out there [available via trade], but what we would have to give up to get them in the long run is probably not worth it…if there’s something out there that fits us, we’ll look at it; if not, we’re comfortable with what we have.”

“All Hands On Deck”

As Chris Godwin said before his injury, the team must lean on one another and elevate as a group by being “all hands on deck” to sustain its winning culture. A key part of that will be the three guys who were active at the end of last week’s game: rookie Jalen McMillan, second-year player Trey Palmer, and nine-year NFL veteran Sterling Shepard.

Bucs WR Sterling Shepard – Photo by: USA Today

Of those three, the man who could be a calming presence on offense is Shepard, who was Baker Mayfield’s No. 1 receiver back in 2015 when they played at Oklahoma together. 

“I have a lot of trust in Sterling; it’s been like that forever,” Mayfield said before explaining how he plans to approach working with his diminished receiving core. “It’s always good to have a deep receiver room; it’s a long year; things happen, so you have to have these guys step up in a big way, but you don’t wanna ask em’ to do too much. Stay within yourself. It’s not like they have to replace Mike and Chris. It’s gonna be a group effort.”

Shepard spoke to Pewter Report about his decision to accept a role on the Bucs practice squad at the start of this season.

“I fought through a lot of adversity; you’ve got to keep pushing, keep pounding, and put your best foot forward,” Shepard said of what led to this point in his career.

“For a slight moment, when they told me they wanted me to come on the practice squad, I wanted to weigh out my options; I have two girls back home, so that went into it, but when I made the decision to stay here, I just focused on trying to get the playbook down and looking at the positives of the situation that I was in,” Shepard recounted. “When I got my opportunity, I wanted to maximize it. It’s no different than when I was in New York, in the limelight. I’m always gonna play with that edge and play with that fire.”

Now, the former New York Giants starter is attempting to pass along his confidence to the young receivers in the Bucs’ locker room.

“We’ve got a lot of young guys, so it’s gonna be up to me to kinda stay in those guys’ ears and encourage them,” Shepard said. “There’s a lot of ballers in the room, a lot of guys that have been eager for their roles to increase. This is their opportunity to have that happen. I feel like we have the right group of guys to go do this thing. You’re gonna have to go through a little time of grief, but gotta snap right back into game mode.”

Palmer has shown flashes of potential as a deep threat since entering the league last season. The former No.1 receiver at Nebraska with 4.33 speed in the 40-yard dash had over 1,100 yards and nine touchdowns before getting drafted in the sixth round.

McMillan is the only Bucs receiver who started in Week 1 who will be available this week and the coaching staff has made it clear that he’s the one they expect to step up most.

Could Jalen McMillan Emerge?

Bucs WR Jalen McMillan – Photo by: USA Today

Head coach Todd Bowles said that all he wants out of Jalen McMillan, the team’s third-round pick, is for him to play like he did at Washington when he was a thousand-yard receiver, even while playing alongside fellow draft NFL picks Rome Odunze [pick No. 9] and Ja’Lynn Polk [pick No. 37].

“My confidence is growing,” McMillan said when asked about his development as a rookie. “At first, I was kind of overthinking things, but that’s just what comes with transitioning. I’m adjusting and ready to make plays.”

Tampa Bay’s offensive coordinator, Liam Coen, was already expecting growth from the rookie before the injuries took place and expressed belief in him before the team played Baltimore, and he had four touches for 26 yards.

“I had a really good conversation [with McMillan] on Sunday and said, ‘I think this is the week that you kinda really have to emerge and I trust you.’” Coen shared from their conversation before the Ravens game. “And on the first fourth down and one, we’re giving the man the ball on a jet sweep and trusting that he’s gonna make a play, and he did, [then] on a critical third down, he catches the ball in traffic and makes a first down…I believe that there is a connection there [between McMillan and Mayfield]. We’ve seen it. It’s just kinda building on it and doing it live in a game situation.”

Other players who could assume a more prominent role over time are receivers such as Rakim Jarrett and Kameron Johnson, who have both had stints on or are currently on non-season-ending injured reserve. Ryan Miller was also signed to the active roster this week, and the team has Tanner Knue, Marquez Callaway, and Dennis Houston on the practice squad. 

There’s also a chance that non-wide receivers such as tight end Cade Otton become more of a focal point in the passing game, or perhaps even the aforementioned dual-threat running back trio starring Rachaad White, Bucky Irving, and Sean Tucker could spend more time playing in the slot, a position that Coen said would take time to ease them into if necessary. Regardless of which Bucs ultimately step on the field offensively, on Sunday, though, Mayfield is ready to go to battle.

“I’ll be extremely confident in those guys,” Mayfield stated. “We expect everyone to step up in a big way. It’s gonna be a full group effort. It’s gonna look different, but that’s ok. It’ll be a little more creative, and we’ll have some fun with it…next man up.”