Getty Chris Godwin (left) will have a lot of suitors in free agency.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have an embarrassment of riches on offense which makes the future of star wide receiver Chris Godwin a bit more complicated. Godwin is playing on the franchise tag in 2021 after briefly being a free agent last offseason as the Bucs pushed back making a long-term decision on the playmaker for another season.
Godwin is going to once again have plenty of suitors, and the question is whether the Bucs will pay top dollar to retain the wideout. The good news is the Bucs are projected to have $32.4 million in cap space (per Over the Cap), and we have seen the front office get creative to retain their core players.
This cap space could be quickly accounted for with other free agents on the roster including Leonard Fournette, Rob Gronkowski and Antonio Brown joining Godwin on the market.
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Bleacher Report’s Chris Rolling believes the New England Patriots and Chicago Bears are two of the biggest threats to sign Godwin in 2022. New England would be particularly interesting as Tom Brady has brought a number of former Pats players with him in his move down south.
“Godwin’s age, plus his ability to make plays down the field independent of quarterback or scheme reliance will make him one of the rare wideouts to get a monster deal on the open market,” Rolling detailed. “There’s a reason Spotrac projects his market value at $17 million per year, just a hair under Tyreek Hill and Amari Cooper.
“On paper, it would make sense for Godwin to leave Tampa Bay to get out of Mike Evans’ shadow, be a passing attack’s unquestioned No. 1 and maximize his earning potential, possibly in a bigger market.”
2022 Franchise Tag for Godwin Is an Estimated $19.2 Million
Bucs fans heard all last offseason how the team was in danger of losing key players. All Tampa Bay did was become the first Super Bowl champions to bring back all of the team’s starters.
As The Athletic’s Greg Auman detailed, the Buccaneers also have the option of once again using the franchise tag on Godwin, but it would give the receiver an estimated $19.2 million salary for 2022. This is a sharp increase from the current $15.9 million tag amount Godwin is playing on this season.
“Do they have the ability? Absolutely. Can they afford to, given the volume of free agents they will want to re-sign at other positions? That’s the larger question,” Auman wondered on November 24. “Even competing with so many top targets in the Bucs’ passing game, I feel like Godwin has increased his value as an unrestricted free agent next spring. Godwin is on course to break the franchise record with 107 catches and also lead the team with 1,329 receiving yards while catching eight touchdowns.
“He’s playing on the franchise tag this year, and the Bucs could tag him again — at about $19.2 million for one year — or sign him to a long-term extension, probably averaging close to that on a per-year basis. They really can’t bring everyone back like they did this season, so they must decide how crucial it is to keep Godwin vs. keeping other guys coming out of their rookie contracts like Carlton Davis, Alex Cappa and Jordan Whitehead, plus key veterans such as Ryan Jensen, Rob Gronkowski, Leonard Fournette, Antonio Brown, Jason Pierre-Paul, Ndamukong Suh, Will Gholston, O.J. Howard, Ronald Jones and others.”
Godwin on the Franchise Tag: ‘I’ll Play on It & Go Back to War With My Guys’
Prior to the Bucs using the franchise tag last offseason, Godwin admitted his preference would be to sign a long-term contract but added that he had no problem playing on the one-year deal.
During a February 2021 interview with NFL Network’s MJ Acosta, Godwin emphasized his desire to stay with the Buccaneers for the foreseeable future.
“Yeah, I mean, the way I look at it, [is] similar to like a lot of guys,” Godwin said at the time. “Obviously, we all want to have long-term security, we all want to be able to take care of the people that we love So, that’s the ideal situation. But, you know, a franchise tag is not something that I can control. If that’s what keeps me here, then that’s what it is. And I’ll play on it and go back to war with my guys. Like I said, I love it here in Tampa, I love what we have building and I would love to stay.”