Happiness Buys Loyalty To Bucs
June 9th, 2025
Strong bond to Tampa Bay.
The same person who created a nationwide stink and rare Bucs mega-drama is the same person who may be responsible for the Bucs having arguably the deepest wide receiver room in the NFL.
If Dan Pompei of The Athletic is typing about the Bucs, Joe is reading it. And the veteran NFL writer, who calls South Tampa his part-time home, dug out a really cool element in a must-read feature on Bucs receiver Chris Godwin.
Godwin had several suitors for his services when he was a free agent this spring, Pompei pointed out. One was the Steelers, who later traded for DK Metcalf and washed their hands of temperamental George Pickens.
Boy, Godwin and Pickens are about polar opposites.
Godwin’s agent wanted him out of Tampa Bay and into New England, where creepy Bob Kraft was flashing loads of money in Godwin’s face. Yet the very same person who blew a gasket on social media over how Godwin was being used in 2023 was the very same person responsible for keeping Godwin in Tampa Bay.
That was Godwin’s wife, Mariah.
My, how things have changed in less than two years.
Bucs AC/DC-loving general manager Jason Licht had only so much Team Glazer loot to offer Godwin. Kraft had much more. But Godwin’s emotional tie to the Bucs won out — and a desire to make another run at the Super Bowl.
Mariah Godwin’s advice was the tipping point, per Pompei. Long story short, the Godwins (and their dogs) consider Tampa their forever home.
[Mike] Evans is one of many Bucs, including support staff workers, who made Godwin want to remain in Tampa. The organization is as comfortable to him as worn-in cleats.
“It’s not always the case that you are surrounded by a ton of good people who care about the right things, who have similar goals and treat people with respect,” he says. “The first thing for me is I want to work with people that I enjoy it with.”
It seems it wasn’t just Mariah Godwin and teammates influencing Godwin’s decision to stick around. Pompei noted Godwin has a tight group of friends of current and past Bucs who regularly hang out, including Cam Brate, Ryan Griffin, Anthony Nelson and Cade Otton and their wives.
Pompei detailed Godwin’s injury wasn’t just a dislocated ankle. His foot was nearly destroyed.
Godwin also fractured his fibula, tore his deltoid and had a high ankle sprain.
The post-op pain was the worst Godwin has ever experienced, he told Pompei.
What did not involve any pain for Godwin was his decision to stick in Tampa.
“If I ended up going to New England, it would have been solely based off money because everything else was telling me to stay here.”
Godwin also told Pompei he plans to keep playing football until the last drop of football ability drips from his body.
As Joe stated, Pompei is a first-class chronicler of the NFL and his latest on Godwin is a fantastic read. Enjoy!
June 9th, 2025 at 10:53 am
Roquan Smith deserves to be carried off the field in pieces. What a despicable piece of feces.
June 9th, 2025 at 11:00 am
He’s already up to about 100 million in career earnings, at some point it must occur to him, “How much money do I actually need?”
June 9th, 2025 at 11:02 am
That story says a lot about the Bucs’ organization. A lot of teams talk about camaraderie among players, but the entire organization in Tampa seems to be built on character, integrity, and respect. How refreshing is that!
June 9th, 2025 at 11:11 am
Any decision you make in life that solely is about money is more than likely not the correct decision.
June 9th, 2025 at 11:30 am
GO BUCS
June 9th, 2025 at 11:40 am
Joe … ‘Pompei detailed Godwin’s injury wasn’t just a dislocated ankle. His foot was nearly destroyed. Godwin also fractured his fibula, tore his deltoid and had a high ankle sprain. The post-op pain was the worst Godwin has ever experienced, he told Pompei.’
I really wish I hadn’t read that now Joe, particulary the ‘his foot was nearly destroyed part’ and the ‘post-op pain’ part. That’s horrible. I can’t even imagine what Chris is going through trying to bounce back.
Love the part where Chris tells Pompei that ‘he plans to keep playing football until the last drop of football ability drips from his body.’ That’s the sign IMO of a player who REALLY loves playing football. We’re lucky to have him.
June 9th, 2025 at 12:03 pm
Why would Roquan Smith do that?
It was the end of the game.
We had no chance of winning.
But as we saw with Sean Payton when the universe broke his leg for his sins.
The universe has a way to working things out.
Did you see the Ravens in the Super Bowl?
I didn’t.
And I don’t think they we will ever win a Super Bowl.
June 9th, 2025 at 12:43 pm
I’m not so sure Smith intended to harm Godwin but only the players know. I haven’t seen the replay of that and not too sure I want to.
June 9th, 2025 at 12:51 pm
DR, I felt the same way when I read the description of the injury(s). No wonder there’s uncertainty about the timing of his return. A lot of healing needs to happen. But considering the contract renewal, the Bucs must be pretty confident he will heal and be back on the field again. You just have to wonder, what kind of hit caused all of those injuries?
June 9th, 2025 at 1:45 pm
Smith didn’t do anything wrong. That was on bowels that game was a wrap Evans was already hurt n out Godwin had no business being in that game
June 9th, 2025 at 2:01 pm
@Jerseybuc
Textbook hip drop tackle against Chris as I recall. They’re outlawed by the league for a reason.
June 9th, 2025 at 2:10 pm
Love to read it but I don’t have a NY Times subscription.
No more cable tv bill, cut the cord 🥳 . Now it’s 50 separate subs on top of Internet service that adds up to twice as much $.
June 9th, 2025 at 2:53 pm
Destroyed foot? Torn deltoid?
That was some nasty hit…
June 9th, 2025 at 3:07 pm
@Stanglassman
Stan, try clicking on the link. When the new tab opens, wait a few seconds then close the tab. Wait a couple of minutes then click the link again. Works for me.
June 9th, 2025 at 4:08 pm
I heard panthers offered him 34 mill.
June 9th, 2025 at 4:39 pm
Good on Mariah standing up for her man, she was right to point out Chris’ lack of targets. Also, I bet Chris also wants to win and be in the playoffs – a much better chance with the Bucs than the Pats.
I think the psychological aspect of his recovery will be tough when he’s deemed ready to play. It will be hard to trust the ankle running routes and taking hits in live action.
June 9th, 2025 at 4:53 pm
Man, I just KNEW it was more of an injury than a dislocated ankle. Too bad we had to find out from non-Bucanneers people. That kind of frosts my butt. Here is hoping Chris can come back, and that painful surgery was effective!
June 9th, 2025 at 5:01 pm
Vanessa.
No luck. The only option is to start a free trial. I’ll forget to cancel it and never read the articles and get charged $6 a month for years before i get around to canceling it. The Athletic has insightful writing I believe Greg Auman works for them. He’s the best. I wish I could support all of them but it’s just not feasible.
June 9th, 2025 at 9:10 pm
@Stanglassman
Stan, sorry to hear that. The only other trick I try is after I click on the link then close the tab that opens, is to click on another page here on JBF.com, read another article, then go back and try again.
I don’t blame you for not wanting to pay for a monthly subscription you may not use that often, then forget about, while you get billed every month for years. I’m the same way.
I certainly don’t mind supporting journalists and good reporting/articles, but it needs to be something I’m going to read on a very consistent basis.
June 10th, 2025 at 7:57 am
such a refreshing story to hear about Godwin, another Buc with his priorities in order
June 10th, 2025 at 3:41 pm
I had the same injury as Godwin when I was 26. I didn’t rehab it properly and ended up back in surgery to clean out all the scar tissue that resulted. There are three things to heal; the bone, which is actually the easiest; the surgical intrusion which causes so much pain in early recovery; and the soft tissue which has to sit as it reattaches, then very carefully be stretched back into functional shape, which for a WR is huge. This is a minimum year-long recovery. Even if he gets back sooner, his reflex and extension will limit him. So we need to be patient and hope for a good second half to the season.