When healthy, Mike Evans and Chris Godwin are among the most prolific wide receiver duos in the NFL, and one year after the Tampa Bay Buccaneers signed Evans to a long-term extension, Godwin is set to become an unrestricted free agent.
However, while Godwin is working his way back from a dislocated ankle suffered during a Week 7 Buccaneers loss to the Baltimore Ravens, which could keep the 28-year-old’s price down once the market opens and free agency gets underway.
If the Buccaneers plan on bringing Godwin, back, it’s unlikely that general manager Jason Licht and company will use the franchise tag on the former third-round pick, out of Penn State, in the 2017 NFL Draft.
“While sources told ESPN that the Bucs very much want Godwin back and they’ll do what it takes to make this happen, it won’t be on a franchise tag,” ESPN’s Jenna Laine reports. “They used the tag as a placeholder the last time Godwin was a free agent (in 2022), and they used it on him in 2021, so this would be his third time being tagged—therefore it would have to be a 144 percent raise, and I’m told there is ‘no chance’ of that happening. They’ll do what it takes to re-sign him as a free agent.”
Where Chris Godwin, the Buccaneers Go From Here
Godwin, 6-foot-1 and 209 pounds, has caught 579 passes for 7,266 yards with 39 touchdowns through the first eight seasons of his career.
And, while where Godwin catches his next touchdown remains to be seen, it’s pretty clear why the Buccaneers won’t be using the tag on him.
This offseason, the franchise tag costs $26.3 million against the cap next season, and Tampa Bay is only projected to have upwards of $5.26 million in effective cap space.
More likely for Godwin and the Buccaneers is that he either gives Tampa some sort of hometown discount on a one-year deal, to prove he’s healthy enough to remain a marquee player off of his injury, or the Buccaneers wind up signing him to a long-term contract to a far lower cap number than the cap price before free agency gets underway.
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