diff --git a/drivers/watchdog/bcm_kona_wdt.c b/drivers/watchdog/bcm_kona_wdt.c
index 6fce17d5b9f1..a5775dfd8d5f 100644
--- a/drivers/watchdog/bcm_kona_wdt.c
+++ b/drivers/watchdog/bcm_kona_wdt.c
@@ -304,6 +304,8 @@ static int bcm_kona_wdt_probe(struct platform_device *pdev)
 	if (!wdt)
 		return -ENOMEM;
 
+	spin_lock_init(&wdt->lock);
+
 	res = platform_get_resource(pdev, IORESOURCE_MEM, 0);
 	wdt->base = devm_ioremap_resource(dev, res);
 	if (IS_ERR(wdt->base))
@@ -316,7 +318,6 @@ static int bcm_kona_wdt_probe(struct platform_device *pdev)
 		return ret;
 	}
 
-	spin_lock_init(&wdt->lock);
 	platform_set_drvdata(pdev, wdt);
 	watchdog_set_drvdata(&bcm_kona_wdt_wdd, wdt);
 	bcm_kona_wdt_wdd.parent = &pdev->dev;