Getty Marquise Goodwin celebrates a touchdown in a Buffalo Bills game.
Marquise Goodwin is back in the AFC and onto the second decade of his NFL career.
The speedy wide receiver, who started this career with the Buffalo Bills in 2013, signed with the Cleveland Browns, the team announced on April 14. The 32-year-old played for the Seattle Seahawks last season, making 27 catches for 387 yards with a career-high four touchdowns.
Goodwin now joins a Browns team with a deep wide receiving corps and hopes of jumping back into contention in the AFC.
Marquise Goodwin Has Chance to Play Big Role in Cleveland
As Cory Kinnan of USA Today’s Browns Wire noted, Goodwin has the chance to add an important downfield component to Cleveland’s passing game. Speedy Browns receiver Anthony Schwartz took a step back after his rookie season, making just four catches for 51 yards in 11 games.
“The Browns cannot go into 2023 hoping for Anthony Schwartz to take the jump,” Kinnan wrote. “And the addition of Goodwin gave them that fallback of a deep threat who has consistently contributed every step of the way deep down the field and from the slot.
We have signed WR Marquise Goodwin.
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“Goodwin has racked up over 300 yards in three of his last four seasons, and if he can hit that mark again then the one-year deal will have been worth it. The leading receiver of players not named Cooper, Peoples-Jones, or tight end David Njoku was a tie between Nick Chubb and Harrison Bryant.”
Goodwin has played in 102 games over the last 10 years, making 187 receptions for 3,023 yards and 18 touchdowns. After spending his first four seasons with the Bills, he played for the San Francisco 49ers, Chicago Bears and Seahawks.
Goodwin had an up-and-down tenure in Buffalo, making 17 catches for 283 yards and three touchdowns in his rookie year but struggling with injuries, appearing in only 12 games in the next two seasons and making three receptions for 66 yards.
Bills Add to Wide Receiving Corps
The Bills have also been making some additions to their wide receiving corps this offseason, signing former Miami Dolphins pass catcher Trent Sherfield and speedy receiver/return specialist Deonte Harty.
They could also be looking to add another target in the NFL Draft, having met with a number of top prospects. As the Buffalo News reported, the Bills have already met with Ohio State’s Jaxon Smith-Njigba, USC receiver Jordan Addison, Tennessee wide receiver Jalin Hyatt, and Houston’s Nathaniel “Tank” Dell.
ESPN’s Todd McShay predicted that the Bills would take Addison with the No. 27 overall pick, noting he could eventually be a good complement to Stefon Diggs in Buffalo’s pass attack.
“Addison uses his speed, route-running savviness and high-end instincts to separate from coverage, and he’d fit nicely with this Buffalo offense,” McShay wrote. “Despite a 5-11 frame, he can make tough catches down the field. And while Stefon Diggs is here to stay for a bit, the Bills need to find more pass-catchers. Gabe Davis is under contract for only one more year, and the depth chart beyond those two is lackluster. Addison had 159 catches for 2,468 yards and 25 touchdowns over the past two seasons (the first of which was at Pitt).”