Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Chris Godwin had a very limited role during his team’s Week 13 win over the Carolina Panthers, and his wife isn’t happy about it.
Godwin was targeted just three times and didn’t log a single catch in the 21-18 victory, and head coach Todd Bowles said it was because the club was “subbing him out a lot.”
However, Godwin was actually on the field for 52 snaps, which was 82 percent of the Buccaneers’ offensive snaps.
Mariah Goodwin took to Instagram to express her displeasure with the situation, stating that Bowles wasn’t being entirely truthful with his explanation.
“I’m not sure why we are just blatantly lying here,” she wrote, via JoeBucsFan.com. “Regardless of how banged up Chris is, he continues to work his a– off and hasn’t missed a game. [C]ontinues 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.”
On the season overall, Godwin has logged 53 catches for 606 yards and a touchdown.
The 27-year-old, who played his collegiate football Penn State, was selected by Tampa Bay in the third round of 2017 NFL Draft.
He had a decent rookie campaign, playing in every game and catching 34 passes for 525 yards and a score. The following year, Godwin showed improvement, snaring 59 balls for 842 yards while reaching the end zone seven times.
Then, in 2019, Godwin broke out, hauling in 86 receptions for 1,333 yards and nine touchdowns en route to a Pro Bowl appearance.
While he hasn’t matched that production since, he has still put together three 1,000-yard seasons in total, so his wife may have a point about the Bucs not properly utilizing him.
The Buccaneers are 5-7 and will take on the Atlanta Falcons in a pivotal NFC South divisional matchup this Sunday.
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