This afternoon, Joe asked Chris Godwin about rehabbing from a season-ending injury and his answer was a little surprising.

Godwin left the December Bucs-Lions game with a hamstring injury and did not play in the final two games of last season.

“My rehab, it kind of took place just throughout the entire season,” Godwin said via a conference call with local media.

“Just like as you guys are used to I guess hearing about, I feel like there’s few [players] who go through an NFL season and don’t get banged up. That was no different for me. So just throughout the season, I was just, you know, making sure I was ready for game day. And the first couple of weeks after the season was crucial for me because it really gave me a chance to relax for the first time in a couple of months and to really give my body the rest that it needed.

“I think I took a little bit more of that this year than I had in years past, just to make sure I was fully ready before I went back and started working out full-tilt. I felt like I owed it to myself … the best thing I could do to have myself ready for the offseason that I had prepared.”

Joe expected Godwin to say something like, ‘My hamstring was back to normal by February 8th.’ But Godwin didn’t go there and basically said he was beat up all season long and needed extra recovery time. Unfortunately, in the online video conference format a quick follow-up question isn’t an option.

Perhaps all that blocking at the point of attack Godwin does in the run game really weighed on him.

Regardless, it’s good to hear that Godwin is ready and raring to go. So far, he said, he hasn’t been throwing with Tom Brady, only phone calls.