The Tampa Bay Buccaneers' title hopes this season took a huge blow after it was announced that Chris Godwin suffered a torn ACL and is now set to miss the remainder of the season. Godwin sustained the injury during the Bucs' embarrassing 9-0 shutout loss at the hands of the New Orleans Saints on Sunday, and the fact that his services will no longer be available for the rest of the year is an undeniably significant development for Tampa Bay.

Bucs superstar quarterback Tom Brady is unsurprisingly incensed by these recent developments. The GOAT recently went on a lengthy rant on his Let's Go! podcast as he called out the NFL for its existing rules on protecting wide receivers, or the apparent lack thereof:

“I’ve seen that hit too many times where a defenseless pass catcher is in the process of catching the ball and he’s hit by the defender,” Brady said, via Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times. “And a lot of defenders would say, ‘Well, we can’t hit him in the head anymore.’ Well, the point is, you can’t hit anybody in the head anymore.

“You can’t hit anyone in the knees anymore except for receivers. Which doesn’t make any sense to me. You can’t hit a defensive lineman in the knees, you can’t hit a punter in the knees, you can’t hit a quarterback in the knees, you can’t hit a DB in the knees except for allowing hits on defenseless receivers. It needs to be addressed and really thought out.”

Godwin suffered the injury in the second quarter of Sunday's contest right after receiving a pass from Brady himself. Saints defensive back PJ Williams hit Godwin in the right knee and right on the onset, it was clear that this was going to be a bad injury. Initial reports suggested that the Pro Bowl WR had sustained an MCL sprain and that he would be able to return for the NFL Playoffs. Further testing revealed, however, that it was actually an ACL tear and that Godwin is now officially done for the year.

As Brady pointed out in his statement above, it's actually quite odd that the league rules still allow for wide receivers to take hits in the knees. The Buccaneers superstar is adamant that the NFL must do something about this disparity. Brady even went on to say that for his part, he would much rather take a hit to the head than in the knees:

“It really impacts guys’ careers and (Godwin), I know he’ll overcome it. It’s a tough rehab,” Brady continued. “You tear your ACL, that’s a life-long injury. You know? And I’m sure almost every pass catcher in the NFL would prefer a hit to the head over a hit to the knees. I certainly would. I’d take that a million out of a million.”

The Buccaneers will definitely miss what Godwin brings to the table. He has been one of the most important players on the roster all season long, and with him out of the picture, Brady and the Bucs will need to figure out how to navigate the remaining games of the regular season without him. Things will only get tougher once the playoff starts.

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“Everyone hates to see (Godwin) go down so there’s an emotional aspect to that, too, that we’ve all got to deal with knowing that one of our most dedicated guys is not going to be on the field with us for the rest of the year, which is tough,” he said. “And he’s got a tough road to overcome and I know he will because that’s the type of guy he is. But obviously, our hearts are with him. We love him. There’s nothing more we love than to have him out there with us. Tough for everyone to swallow. It’s a tough injury.

“It’s part of the sport, which makes it difficult. I know every sport has its challenges with physical injuries. Football is a demolition derby.”

If there's anyone who should be able to recover from such a tough blow then it has to be Tom Brady and his squad. The GOAT has been through similar circumstances in the past and as he said, this is all just part of the sport.

At 10-4, Brady and the Buccaneers are sitting comfortably at the top of the NFC South. They have three more games remaining in the regular season, starting with a Week 16 showdown against the Carolina Panthers on Sunday.