The biggest offseason storyline for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers is what the franchise does with receiver Chris Godwin.
Godwin’s season ended prematurely in Week 7 when he suffered a nasty ankle injury, and prior to that, he was on fire in the first part of the season, posting 576 yards and five touchdowns in seven games.
That kind of production won’t just go away, but with Godwin now a pending free agent, the Buccaneers have a decision to make, and no doubt, health will be a factor.
And Buccaneers general manager Jason Licht says the team must make a good decision.
“The facts are he had a serious injury and missed a lot of time and there is still some uncertainty,” Licht said. “So, we moved the void so it gives us more options and flexibility as it pertains to him and we got to make a good decision. Hopefully we can come to an agreement with him because Chris means the world to this organization and to all of us individually. I mean nobody has been more resilient than him. We have similarly been down this road before and nobody works harder than him.
“If I was a betting man, I would bet on Chris. We have to weigh through some variables here.”
Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Chris Godwin (14).
Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images
Money will be a big factor in how this saga turns out, and Spotrac.com’s market value for Godwin is a cool $22.5 million APY.
For a player coming off a horror ankle injury, that might be deemed too rich for Tampa Bay, but that is what the franchise has to weigh up. Godwin has been a star for the Buccaneers for years, and now the franchise’s faith in their receiver will be put to the test.
With an offense led by Baker Mayfield and already having Mike Evans, Cade Otton, Jalen McMillan, and Bucky Irving as other key pieces, having Godwin back in 2025 would give a nice injection to the passing attack.
But as Licht said, there are some variables to consider, and ultimately, those variables will determine whether Godwin is a Buccaneer in 2025.
