Why the heck was Chris Godwin still in the Buccaneers loss late before his horrible injury?

That question above is the one everyone is asking, and rightfully so.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers were down 41-31 late on Monday night in Week 7 to the Baltimore Ravens, with the game probably out of hand barring a miracle, but they kept the starters out.

Then, Chris Godwin got injured in what’s initially being called a dislocated ankle that will leave the Bucs star out indefinitely.

So why the heck would you keep him in there? Head coach Todd Bowles said this, via CBS Sports: “We were down 10, so we were still trying to get points and kick another onside kick, and it just happened. With Mike going down we didn’t have that many receivers as it was, so we played with what we had.”

Then he added this:

"It's unfortunate he (Chris Godwin) got hurt and we feel bad about that. But he's a football player and he wanted to be in the game just like Baker and everyone else wanted to be in the game."

— Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles on Chris Godwin's injury in the fourth quarter pic.twitter.com/qFoYE38Pfq

— NFL on CBS (@NFLonCBS) October 22, 2024

It’s unfortunate this happened, but it could have been avoided.