Chris Godwin: Everything you need to know

Godwin is the veteran leader of Tampa Bay's WR room following Mike Evans' departure to San Francisco, Greg Auman of Fox Sports reports. The Bucs signed Godwin to a three-year, $66 million contract last offseason, at which time he was rehabbing from a complicated leg/ankle injury. He ended up playing just nine games in 2025, finishing with a 33-360-2 receiving line, which was a massive drop-off from his 2024 line of 50-575-5 (in only seven games). Prior to the severe injury, he'd been well on his way to a fourth consecutive 1,000-yard season. Godwin now has a shot to get back to that kind of volume, though it's far from guaranteed at age 30, coming off consecutive injury-shortened seasons. WR Emeka Egbuka may be ready to take over as the No. 1 receiver in Tampa Bay, where there's additional competition for targets coming from WR Jalen McMillan, RB Bucky Irving, RB Kenneth Gainwell (recently signed) and TE Cade Otton (re-signed). Godwin's 2026 base salary ($22 million) is already guaranteed, but the Bucs will then have a club option for 2027 ($20.5 million base salary, $1.5 million roster bonus).

Godwin secured his only target for eight yards in the Buccaneers' 16-14 win over the Panthers on Saturday. He finished the 2025 regular season with 33 receptions for 360 yards and two touchdowns on 51 targets across nine games. Godwin's uninspiring finish was a somewhat fitting end to a career-worst season for the accomplished veteran, who failed to hit the 50-catch mark for the first time since his rookie 2017 campaign. He didn't make his season debut until Week 4 while completing his recovery from a 2024 ankle injury, and after posting matching three-catch, 26-yard efforts in his first two games, the Penn State product went on to log five consecutive absences due to a fibula injury. Godwin ultimately managed just one 100-yard performance and finished with a career-low 7.1 yards per target, making it close to a throwaway campaign from a fantasy perspective. He's under contract for the 2026 season at a significant cap hit of $33.7 million thanks in large part to a $22 million base salary, so a restructuring or potential parting of the ways appears to be in the cards this offseason.

Godwin (illness) is listed as active Saturday against the Panthers, Scott Smith of the Buccaneers' official site reports. Per Adam Schefter of ESPN, Tampa Bay added Godwin to its Week 18 injury report Saturday due to an illness but at the same time didn't give him a game status, implying that he was expected to play. Now that that has been confirmed, Godwin will be available as the Bucs seek a win, plus a Falcons loss or tie to the Saints on Sunday, to officially win the NFC South and thus the No. 4 playoff seed in the conference. He's logged between 64 and 96 percent of the offensive snaps over the last five games en route to a 24-291-2 line on 32 targets during that span.