Proposed Trade Sends Bucs’ $60 Million Wide Receiver to AFC East

Getty Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Chris Godwin.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are paying a lot of money to have one of the NFL’s best wide receiver duos in Mike Evans and Chris Godwin.

Evans signed a 2-year, $52 million contract in March 2024 to avoid free agency after he set an NFL record with his 10th consecutive season with at least 1,000 receiving yards in 2023.

Godwin, who has three consecutive seasons with at least 1,000 receiving yards, signed a 3-year, $60 million deal in 2022 after playing the 2021 season under the franchise tag.

That’s a lot of cash – and NBC Sports Boston’s Phil Perry laid out a detailed scenario in which the New England Patriots and Buccaneers could pull off a trade that would send Godwin to the six-time Super Bowl champions.

“(The Buccaneers) have, in my opinion, indicated that they were looking to build some receiver depth, maybe to give them a little bit of flexibility just in case they want to move on from somebody like Chris Godwin,” Perry said on NBC Sports Boston’s Arbella Early Edition on May 8. “Because in the third round, they drafted Washington’s Jalen McMillan, who kind of plays the same type of game as Chris Godwin. They’re both sort of big slots …

“So, if the (Bucs) — if ownership, specifically — is looking at this and saying, ‘We just gave a lot of real guaranteed money to Mike Evans, real guaranteed money to Baker Mayfield, we can’t keep everybody. We’re about to lose this guy (Godwin) for maybe nothing. We’ve got to get something in return right now,’ that’s a deal that I would be interested in. Because even if he’s not a true No. 1, he’d be your No. 1 if you’re the New England Patriots.”

Buccaneers Spent Big Money in 2024 Offseason

Evans wasn’t the only one who cashed in with the Buccaneers in the 2024 offseason.

Quarterback Baker Mayfield — once viewed as a stopgap player — turned a 1-year, $4 million contract with the Buccaneers in 2023 into a 3-year, $100 million contract extension after making his first Pro Bowl and leading his team to a third consecutive NFC South Division title.

Buccaneers Added Wide Receiver in 2024 NFL Draft

Godwin went from a third-round pick out of Penn State in 2017 to an NFL All-Pro and Pro Bowler in 2019 and has been one of the NFL’s best wide receivers his entire career.

The Buccaneers hope a 2024 third-round pick, Washington wide receiver Jalen McMillan, might be able to do the same.

McMillan had 79 receptions for 1,098 receiving yards and 9 touchdowns in 2022 but missed five games with injury in 2023, when he had 39 receptions for 526 receiving yards and 4 touchdowns as he took a backseat to fellow wide receiver Rome Odunze, the No. 9 overall pick by the Chicago Bears.

“Slot target with good size and production over the last two seasons,” NFL analyst Lance Zierlein wrote in his pre-draft evaluation of McMillan. “McMillan is a long-striding field-stretcher who is at his best with momentum routes in a West Coast passing scheme … Teams will need to determine if McMillan was a product of the impressive Washington passing scheme, or if he’s a stand-alone talent outside of UW.”