It has been a frustrating season for Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Chris Godwin. His production has dipped as he deals with nagging injuries, but his wife thinks Godwin should still be getting more opportunities.
In Sunday's win over the Carolina Panthers, Godwin had zero catches on just three targets. He did have a 19-yard rushing attempt for a touchdown, but that was his only touch of the day. After the game, Tampa Bay head coach Todd Bowles explained why Godwin saw less action than usual.
"We were subbing him out a lot," Bowles said. "Obviously, he's a little nicked up so he's not totally 100%. Nobody is, but he's probably banged up more than most."
After seeing Bowles' response, his wife Maria posted a message on her Instagram story in which she called out the Bucs' coach for "blatantly lying." Mariah Godwin said Chris is still doing everything well, despite his injury issues.
"I'm not sure why we are just blatantly lying here," she wrote. "Regardless of how banged up Chris is, he continues to work his ass off, hasn't missed a game, continues to run great routes & get open. I don't know why things are the way they are, this isn't my team to coach. but this lying on Chris & implying negativity on his work ethic is infuriating."
After her comments went viral, Mariah Godwin tried to offer some clarity on a separate Instagram story. Godwin wrote that some people took her words to mean something different than what she intended and reiterated her support for Chris and the Buccaneers as a whole.
"Lots of people drawing conclusions of things that I didn't say from what I posted yesterday, which is to be expected from the internet," she wrote. "To be clear: My point was I don't like seeing Chris work so hard, even through injuries & it be said that he was essentially only working part time. That just wasn't true so it was frustrating to see. Because of how he prides himself on working hard no matter what & not using injuries as an excuse, that felt like implying negativity on his work ethic.
"But I am hopeful & excited for the next game as I always am, & it's always Go Bucs. That doesn't change!" she added.
Going into the Buccaneers' Week 14 matchup against the Atlanta Falcons, Chris Godwin has 53 receptions for 606 yards and one touchdown. He's on pace for some of the lowest totals of his career, but Godwin still has time to get back on track and help the Bucs win the NFC South.
