The Tampa Bay Buccaneers showed they still had some fight left in them in an overtime loss at the 2-time defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs in Week 10 — a game they almost won despite being down two of their best offensive weapons in wide receivers Chris Godwin and Mike Evans.
Keep that same energy going, and the Buccaneers might scrap their way into the playoffs for the fifth consecutive season via an NFC Wild Card berth. Let things go off the rails — the Buccaneers are 4-5 headed into a Week 10 game against the San Francisco 49ers — and it’s on to 2025 and building a new roster.
Bleacher Report’s Kristopher Knox already has the top 50 NFL free agents for 2025 ranked following the NFL trade deadline — one in which the Buccaneers made no moves — and has Tampa Bay targeted as a possible destination for Houston Texans wide receiver and 2-time NFL All-Pro wide receiver Stefon Diggs.
Diggs suffered a torn ACL in Week 8 but should be fully healthy in 2025. It’s the first major injury of Diggs’ decade-long career.
“A short-term ‘prove-it’ deal could make(Diggs) one of the best bargains of the offseason, though, as he had shown no signs of decline before the injury,” Knox wrote. “Diggs could be a sneaky target for the Buccaneers, should they lose Chris Godwin in free agency. They are projected to have $31.1 million in cap space, and Diggs might accept an incentive-laden contract that fits with their financial plan.”
Before his injury, Diggs was on track for his seventh consecutive season of at least 1,000 receiving yards with 47 receptions for 496 receiving yards and 3 touchdowns through 8 games.
Godwin Could Leave Buccaneers in Free Agency
Diggs would be one of the few players in the NFL who could step into the shoes of Godwin, who suffered his own season-ending injury in a Week 7 loss to the Baltimore Ravens with a dislocated left ankle.
While Godwin should also return healthy in 2025, he’s already suffered a season-ending injury with a torn ACL in 2021 and is in the final year of a 3-year, $60 million contract he signed before the 2022 season.
Like Diggs, Godwin was in the middle of what was shaping up to be one of his best seasons in 2024 before he was injured with 50 receptions and 576 receiving yards and 5 touchdowns through 7 games.
Locker-Room Issues Could Keep Teams Away
While Diggs had, for all accounts, been an ideal citizen during his short time in Houston, one thing any team that signs him will have to consider is how his presence might impact a locker room.
After being drafted in the fifth round (No. 146 overall) out of Maryland by the Minnesota Vikings in the 2015 NFL draft, Diggs established himself as one of the NFL’s elite wide receivers and turned that into two mega-contracts — a 5-year, $72 million contract extension with the Vikings in 2018 and a 4-year, $96 million contract extension with the Buffalo Bills in 2022.
The problem with Diggs? He’s been a chemistry killer whenever things don’t go his way — first in Minnesota en route to forcing the trade to Buffalo, then in Buffalo on the way to forcing the trade to Houston.
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Buccaneers Predicted to Target Former $96 Million WR in Free Agency