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Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Chris Godwin faced the media for the first time on Thursday, December 7 since his wife, Mariah, posted an Instagram story, accusing head coach Todd Bowles of “lying” about Godwin’s injuries and reducing snap counts.
“Mariah, that’s my best friend. We’ve been together for…what year is it? 2023? For 11 years now. And she’s been my biggest supporter … through the whole thing,” Godwin told reporters. “And I think like, I know she’s always going to support me, she’s always going to have my back.”
A one-time Second-Team All-Pro, Godwin has 53 catches for 606 yards and a touchdown this season. His targets noticeably declined to 3 amid 52 snaps in Week 13 against the Carolina Panthers, but Godwin also had a neck issue on the injury report all week before the game.
“So naturally, there’s some frustrations when things don’t necessarily go how you would expect,” Godwin said. “I think her intent of like proving was simply like — it wasn’t a play count thing, that wasn’t the reason why things didn’t play out how we had hoped.”
“Just making sure that people understand that I work my [expletive] off, which I do. I work my [expletive] off to make sure I’m ready to play, to make sure I’m able to give my best for my teammates and I’m not a liability or anything,” Godwin continued.
“That came from a place of love. I’ll always love her. That’s my girl. I’m always going to have her back the same as she has mine,” he concluded.
Bowles, who doesn’t speak with the media on Thursdays, will talk with reporters on Friday.
Todd Bowles: ‘We Were Subbing Him Out a Lot’
Bowles explained on Monday that Godwin wasn’t “totally 100%”, so the team took precautions against the Panthers. Godwin had 0 catches and a 19-yard touchdown run in Tampa’s 21-18 victory on Sunday.
“We were subbing him out a lot,” Bowles told reporters. “Obviously, he’s a little nicked up, so he’s not totally 100%. Nobody is, but he is probably banged up more than most. For him to get the run for us was huge for him. I think it helped him out a lot, it helped us out a lot, so it was good to see him get in the end zone.”
In response to those comments, Godwin said “I don’t know if disrespected is the right term”.
“I think it’s tough, obviously it was tough to get into the game,” Godwin continued. “We all go through things like physically. Being out there putting everything on the line for the team. Just trying to be available as I can.”
“You want to contribute, and obviously that didn’t happen to the effect of what I’m hoping. I mean, it’s a thing that you live and you learn from, right? At the end of the day I was still there. I was able to contribute in some capacity,” Godwin added. “And also, I don’t think that coach had any malice in what he was saying.”
Mariah Godwin Called Todd Bowles’ Claim a Lie
That’s where Mariah Godwin got going on her Instagram story rant, shared by JoeBucsFan.com. She also posted that her husband’s snap counts on the field were only “a half snap less than his season average of 52.5 snaps per game.”
“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 [expletive] off. Hasn’t missed a game. Continues to run great routes and 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 and implying negativity on his work ethic is infuriating. Let’s not act like he had to be subbed out so much more than usual when in fact he’s been playing just the same.”
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