CHARLOTTE, NC - DECEMBER 24: Chris Godwin #12 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers runs the ball against the Carolina Panthers in the second quarter during their game at Bank of America Stadium on December 24, 2017 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)

Buccaneers’ rookie wide receiver Chris Godwin had a pretty strong ending to a pretty strong first season in the NFL. What’s he going to do in between now and the time his next one starts?

Catching a game winning touchdown against a key divisional opponent on the last offensive play of the Buccaneers’ year is a pretty solid way to ride into the sunset.

If fans of the team didn’t know who he was when the Bucs selected him in the third-round of the 2017 NFL Draft, they certainly do now.

He’s developed a small, but growing constituency of fans who see him as the future of Tampa’s wide receiver group.

Images of he and Mike Evans running through defensive coverages to catch passes from Jameis Winston are keeping many Bucs fans cozy during these cold, playoff-less days.

While we watch other teams, and fans of those teams, try and will their ways to a Super Bowl title what are players like Godwin doing?

Well, when he made an appearance on the Locked on Bucs podcast, we asked him about his off-season plans. Here’s what he said,

“Right now I’m just trying to recover, and get my body right, but when I start working out again I have a good plan in place.”

The grind of a professional football season can take its toll on even the youngest of bodies. So, rest is important, but so is a plan for the future.

Godwin’s plan doesn’t just focus on physical improvements, it also hinges on professional ones,

“I have the little things I want to work on, as a receiver. Make sure I’m getting in and out of my routes better. Just understanding how to play receiver at the NFL level and be successful. Taking those little things I’ve learned throughout the season, and really honing on those skills throughout the off-season.”

While nothing is set in stone just yet, Godwin also hopes to be able to get together with teammates for private workouts, and even mentioned Texas A&M as a possible location to get together with Evans and Winston who now both have ties to the campus.

Life isn’t all about work however. When I asked him who he would single out as the biggest contributor to his rookie success, Godwin pointed to someone we all got to know a little bit during HBO’s “Hard Knocks” series,

“I would probably say, Mariah. Just mainly because, we go through so much as football players, as professional athletes. Day in and day out, it’s a grind throughout the seventeen week season….any time you can get a chance to step away from the game to just relax and take your mind off of it a bit, I think that’s very beneficial. For me, that’s what Mariah provides for me.”

While fans of the team anxiously await the beginning for free-agency and the NFL Draft season, players like Godwin are planning their recovery and plan to come back stronger.

The almost 22-year old receiver mentioned he and Mariah would be taking a mini-vacation before he gets back into his full workout routine.

I for one, wish him all the best in recovering and hope he and Mariah enjoy their time together. He better. Because we all expect to see him playing this time in 2019.

David Harrison is one of the Buccaneers Co-Experts for The Pewter Plank. You can reach him about this or any other NFL topic on Facebook, or on Twitter.