Buccaneers have 4 options to fill peninsula-sized void at wide receiver

Bad to worse doesn’t adequately describe the night the Buccaneers suffered on Monday. In the final minute of a 41-31 loss to the Ravens, Tampa Bay wide receiver Chris Godwin sustained a gruesome dislocated ankle, reportedly a season-ending injury. About two hours earlier, their other starting receiver Mike Evans went down in pain after aggravating a hamstring injury.

But Tampa Bay must regroup. The Buccaneers (4-3) have a short week ahead of a critical home game against Atlanta (4-3) on Sunday (1 p.m. ET, FOX). The Falcons own the head-to-head tiebreaker with a thrilling overtime win over the Bucs three weeks ago, but Tampa Bay with a win can take sole possession of first place in the NFC South.

Even before Monday night’s double blows, head coach Todd Bowles said resiliency was his team’s identity. After all, the team endured two major hurricanes in the last month. The Bucs’ offense also discovered a strength in its 51-27 win at New Orleans two weeks ago: A dominant running game.

Third-string back Sean Tucker even earned NFC Offensive Player of the Week after leading the NFL with 192 scrimmage yards in Week 6. Combined with sparkplug rookie Bucky Irving and now-healthy Rachaad White – who caught two fourth-quarter touchdowns against the Ravens, including a 23-yard score – offensive coordinator Liam Coen could lean more on his skill players out of the backfield. Earlier this year, the Packers won two games without starting quarterback Jordan Love, and did it while leaning on their running game.

Obviously, though, the Bucs had one of the NFL’s best sets of wide receivers and they wake up with a peninsula-sized void on their depth chart. General manager Jason Licht likely worked his staff all night pouring over options. Here are four they might be considering:

• Trade: The league’s Nov. 5 trade deadline is two weeks away and Tampa Bay has six of its seven selections in the 2025 draft (all but the sixth-rounder the Bucs dealt to Detroit in the Carlton Davis deal). Teams have reportedly made calls to inquire on the availability of Cooper Kupp, DeAndre Hopkins and Mike Williams in the past week. Godwin is in a contract year, so this might not be the most attractive option for the Bucs.
• Their own active roster and practice squad: Sterling Shepard and Baker Mayfield have a great relationship, having first played together at Oklahoma. Tampa Bay also has talented rookie Jalen McMillan and second-year wideout Trey Palmer, who caught a 16-yard pass against the Ravens. The Bucs have three players who know their playbook available on the practice squad: Veteran Marquez Callaway along with Tanner Knue and Ryan Miller.
• Other NFL practice squads: Donovan Peoples-Jones (Detroit), Deven Thompkins (Carolina) – who played with Mayfield when the quarterback started for the Panthers — and Kadarius Toney (Cleveland) are all players Tampa Bay could sign to its active roster.
• Free agents: Fortunately for Tampa Bay, Hunter Renfrow still is surprisingly available. Likely awaiting a moment like this, Renfrow spent the past five seasons with the Raiders and posted 269 catches for 2,884 yards and 17 touchdowns.