Wide receiver Chris Godwin and cornerback Sean Murphy-Bunting both left the Bucs’ Week 3 game against the Denver Broncos with hamstring injuries and after missing practice on Wednesday, head coach Bruce Arians announced that running back Leonard Fournette was also dealing with an ankle injury.
Speaking with Bill Polian and Alex Marves On SiriusXM NFL Radio on Wednesday, Arians gave an update on Godwin and Fournette, stating that he wasn’t optimistic about either playing on Sunday against the Los Angeles Chargers.
.@Buccaneers HC @BruceArians told Bill Polian & me on @SiriusXMNFL that he wasn't optimistic about Chris Godwin (hamstring) or Leonard Fournette (ankle) playing Sunday vs. the @Chargers, BA wonders whether Godwin's injury was altitude-related from last Sunday's game in Denver
— Alex Marvez (@alexmarvez) October 1, 2020
Despite eclipsing 1,300 receiving yards and being voted to the Pro Bowl in 2019, both career firsts for Godwin, the fourth-year wide receiver was forced to miss the final two games of the Bucs’ season following a hamstring injury. And most recently, Godwin missed the Bucs’ Week 2 match-up against the Carolina Panthers following a concussion suffered against New Orleans.
If Fournette is forced to miss, it could open a spot for a new running back to step in and make a potential impact for Tampa Bay. Ke’Shawn Vaughn, the Bucs’ third-round pick in 2020 out of Vanderbilt, has yet to play an offensive snap this season and was inactive in Week 3 after veteran Kenjon Barner was elevated from Tampa Bay’s practice squad to the active roster. But in Vaughn’s place, Barner took just four snaps on special teams.
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