Jason Licht: Emeka Egbuka allows us to make sure Chris Godwin doesn't rush back

After the Buccaneers took wide receiver Emeka Egbuka in the first round last week, General Manager Jason Licht said that the selection had nothing to do with how Chris Godwin's rehab from a dislocated ankle is going.

The selection of Egbuka isn't completely unrelated to Godwin, however. Licht explained on WDAE on Tuesday that the rookie's presence means that there's no need for Godwin to fee like he's under any time crunch to get back to full speed.

"[Egbuka] does allow us to make sure that Chris does do his rehab correctly and we don’t rush him, and all those things,” Licht said, via JoeBucsFan.com. “So that does give us a little comfort with the pick — that we can do that, to make sure that’s he’s not rushed back. But [Egbuka] had nothing to do with where Chris is currently in the rehab."

The Bucs were looking to the future with the Egbuka pick, but Licht noted that's also the case for Godwin. He said "three years in the NFL is long-term" in reference to Godwin's new contract and that timeline is all the more reason not to overemphasize how quickly he is back in action.