Lots of Bucs fans like to pull out their calendars when they hear a player has a major injury, such as a blown knee like the one Chris Godwin suffered in mid-December.

“OK. ACL tear. Godwin’s surgery went well in early January. He’ll be full speed in training camp and ready for Week 1.”

Unfortunately, that’s just not everyday reality.

If rehab plays out that way and that quickly, then great! But there’s always a long road to get there. Godwin talked about his rough grind yesterday on SiriusXM NFL Radio.

He was asked about his greatest challenges through the process.

“I think the biggest thing is that, you know, it’s always there. No matter what I do, you always have like in the back of your mind you always feel the knee and always are dealing with that, whether there’s swelling that you deal with or you have to spend more time getting it warmed up before you do stuff. I would say that’s probably the most challenging thing. And then I guess following that I would say just not being able to do what I would normally do at this point in the offseason. I see guys working out [at One Buc Palace] and doing their offseason programs and stuff now and I can’t be doing my stuff, too.”

Godwin said he’s had a one-day-at-a-time mindset his entire life, so that’s how he’s approaching his rehab and there remains no return timetable. “I’m not quite ready to put like a date on it,” he said.

The biggest advice he’s gotten on the ACL rehab, Godwin said, is to fully trust the knee once it’s cleared for play — “that not only are you healed but it’s strong, you’re knee is good and honestly it’s probably stronger than it was before.”

Godwin has huge goals, he said, including being better than he was prior to the injury.

Asked specifically whether news of Tom Brady’s return energized his rehab versus knowing he was coming back to catch passes from Blaine Gabbert or Kyle Trask — (Great question, co-host Bruce Murray!) — Godwin didn’t answer directly but said Brady’s return was “a jolt of energy” for him and the entire organization.

Hasn't gotten old yet. https://t.co/3svVYlHuib

— JoeBucsFan (@JoeBucsFan) March 29, 2022