When Will Dak Prescott, Brandon Aiyuk, Chris Godwin Return for Fantasy Football? NFL Offeason Injury Updates

John's injury updates for Dak Prescott, Brandon Aiyuk, and Chris Godwin. When will Prescott, Godwin, and Aiyuk return for fantasy football in 2025?

As much as it absolutely stinks to see, injuries are just a part of life for football players. It's a sport where many of the world's best athletes are crashing into each other and falling to the ground on top of each other at ridiculously high speeds.

Season-ending injuries can be brutal for everyone involved. And for fantasy managers, it plays a part in what you come to expect from players who were knocked out for the remainder of a season -- when they will return and how close they'll be to 100 percent are important topics to delve into.

Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott (hamstring), San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk (knee), and Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Chris Godwin (ankle) are three such players who were knocked out of their 2024 seasons. Let's dive into their injury details, injury updates, and expected return dates!

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Dak Prescott Injury Update

Prescott suffered a partial avulsion of his hamstring in his final game of the 2024 season, a Week 9 contest against the Atlanta Falcons. Crucially, it was originally thought that it would be possible for him to return to play after some time, and surgery originally wasn't thought to be the only option.

I'm not sure how that works. Part of his hamstring tore off the bone -- one of the tendons that attaches part of the hamstring to a bone, the femur, as far as I know, ruptured. The injury technically occurred on a simple passing play, but that came in the same game as his longest rush of the season, 22 yards.

Cowboys QB Dak Prescott expected to miss multiple weeks with hamstring injury pic.twitter.com/EffSPpvdWn

— Dallas Texas TV (@DallasTexasTV) November 4, 2024

Prescott scrambled for the long gain in the second quarter. It's possible this was one of the precursors to his injury because it doesn't make a ton of sense for the ailment to happen on a throw. Regardless of the exact details, there's little reason to believe that Prescott won't be back for Week 1 of the 2025 season.

His injury isn't of the most severe variety. Multi-ligament knee injuries, complex shoulder issues, or scarier issues like major neck injuries occupy that category. Instead, the offseason has been perfect for Prescott to return to full health.

CeeDee Lamb said he needed a good five months of recovery for his shoulder.

While Dak Prescott said he’s cleared to play without contact, he joked saying he’s as far along in his recovery as he is because “my offseason started way earlier,” given his injury in Week 9 in Atlanta.

— Sydney Staples (@sydstaples) May 20, 2025

The latest completely non-speculative news is that he was cleared for everything without contact. His injury was notably a non-contact injury, as far as we know. It makes sense for the team to be cautious, and it would make little sense for the team to want him to be contacted in the offseason, anyway.

Cowboys QB Dak Prescott was a full participant during today’s OTA practice. It was originally expected that he would be limited while coming back from his season-ending hamstring injury.

Dak: “People say a lot of things about me. I just show up and control what I can control.… pic.twitter.com/zsVJISmut8

— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) May 20, 2025

And apparently he's ahead of schedule. So I expect him back in Week 1.

Brandon Aiyuk Injury Update

Aiyuk suffered an absolutely brutal end to a 2024 season that started pretty rocky for him. With one defender hanging by his back, trying to drag him down, another defender dove at his midsection, contacting his knee. With his foot planted in the ground, his knee bent severely inward, causing both an ACL and MCL tear.

Sucks to see this happen but it is not good #49ers fans @49ers the Brandon Aiyuk injury isnt for the faint of heart. Dont watch if you dont like this stuff. #KCvsSF #brandon aiyuk pic.twitter.com/AqPfVjzbVV

— The Chili & Cam Show (@chilicamshow) October 20, 2024

Multi-ligament knee injuries are the devil when it comes to NFL players' careers. Even with all the recent advancements in modern sports medicine, some injuries are simply so severe that the body never fully recovers. Additionally, it can take a very long time to recover from these.

#49ers Brandon Aiyuk gave a one week post ACL tear update on his YouTube

Aiyuk said he has walked a little but has been tentative to fully weight bear at this time.

Long road to recovery ahead 🙏🏼 pic.twitter.com/vDlP3Or6k2

— OurSF49ers (@OurSf49ers) October 28, 2024

Oh, and by the way, since I haven't been reading this in any articles, I want to point out that Aiyuk's meniscus took some significant damage as well. I was a bit shocked when I heard this because it wasn't well-reported on. I couldn't find anywhere that there was news of his meniscus damage other than from Aiyuk himself.

At least we have a good source for this information, but it's frustrating that often, player injuries go unreported or underreported. It's one of the reasons I'm a lot more cautious taking players who are coming off knee injuries and other ailments that could be complicated.

Unfortunately, as is normal with these types of injuries, we don't know when Aiyuk will be able to return. Not enough time has elapsed since his unfortunate incident, and there's nothing with certainty. I would lean toward him missing at least a few weeks to start the 2025 season, though.

Chris Godwin Injury Update

Godwin was on an absolute tear through seven games in the 2024 season. He racked up 19.7 PPR points per game -- had that remained consistent, he would have finished as the WR2 overall, only behind Cincinnati Bengals superstar Ja'Marr Chase.

Chris Godwin has been carted off the field with a leg injury. pic.twitter.com/sFELHsuEGg

— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) October 22, 2024

The video of the actual injury is pretty gross. I'm not super motivated to post it here. But he broke his ankle (his foot was fully bent sideways) after being tackled by a defender who fell on his lower leg. He had surgery to address the issue in late October and has been recovering since.

"We're expecting Chris Godwin to be ready for week one..

We're excited that he's gonna be here for another three years" ~ @jasonrlicht #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/7hDJXAlt34

— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) April 30, 2025

The good news is that he won't be missing time next season. This is in line with expectations. Ankle ligament damage, dislocations, and breaks aren't injuries that take a year or longer to recover from. How close he will be to 100 percent is an entirely different question.

Chris Godwin before his ankle injury :

— 50 Catches
— 576 Yards
— 5 Touchdowns

Praying for a speedy recovery ❤️‍🩹 pic.twitter.com/ZhfH5hoQMH

— BakerMuse (@MuseBaker) October 22, 2024

Godwin, in my mind, is more likely to return to being productive in short order than Aiyuk is. Ankle injuries are almost always less severe than multi-ligament tears in the knee. There's also the question of how productive he'll be when he returns.

The Buccaneers no longer have Liam Coen running their offense, and that could mean a pretty significant change to how targets are distributed. Coen was a wizard at scheming plays that got his slot receiver open, and that was the role Godwin filled.

Emeka Egbuka, 𝟭𝘀𝘁 𝗥𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 Draft Pick to the @Buccaneers ⭐️
#DevelopedHere | #NFLDraft pic.twitter.com/Foj6VIRe0s

— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) April 25, 2025

The Bucs spend their first-round pick on ... WR Emeka Egbuka, who also happens to be primarily a slot receiver. It's thus not easy to predict how they'll use their personnel. Heavy slot usage is a cheat code for fantasy production, and if Godwin cedes slot snaps to Egbuka, his upside probably won't be as high.

Still, at least the chances of Godwin reinjuring his ankle are pretty low, so we don't have to worry about that.

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