The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are headed for a critical offseason, with several key players on the verge of free agency and limited draft resources, holding only six picks. Every move made will be pivotal in determining the team’s future trajectory.
A decision looming for the Buccaneers’ front office is whether to re-sign veteran wide receiver Chris Godwin. That decision has now been given extra time for both sides to workout.
So this was something I just learned. I knew there was a deadline for Godwin to be extended, but what I didn’t know was that the original one already passed. That was admittedly on me for just not paying attention to that. However, the second thing I learned was that the two sides could agree to move that deadline.
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That seems to be the case here as it got moved to the 12th. No one is reporting on this outside of Greg Auman, which is a bit surprising, but since no deal is actually in place yet, it’s probably not attracting all that much attention.
This is good for two reasons. It seems to signal a willingness for both sides to agree to some deal. What that deal is I do not know. Auman suggests in the thread that it will be for slightly more than what Evans got. The logic makes sense there as Godwin is obviously younger, but is still coming off season-ending injury.
He also said that it could be for two-three years, which I disagree with. I imagine it would be around four years. Licht I think would like that more as it puts off having to pay him again should he play so well he resets the WR market (considering he’s one of the most highly sought after WRs outside Tee Higgins off an injury, I don’t think that is the most absurd thought). His agent may have differing thoughts. It’s tough to say without being in the room. But I do like that they are making some progress.
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The second reason though is the cap hit. Most of you are probably aware of this, but if Godwin is not re-signed, he will count $18 million against the cap. Now, if they extend him, it’s not so much that the cap hit disappears (because it can’t be that nice), but the hit is spread out over two seasons. $7 million this year and $11 million the season after. They cannot tag him because doing so carries a $41 million cap hit for the season. This might make sense for the Browns, but the Bucs are not interested in that sort of cap hit for one year.
I’ll of course update everything if and when there is Godwin news. But I figured this was enough of a step in the right direction to talk about. Hopefully the talks do not fall through because Godwin will be receiving a lot of looks from WR needy teams. Those that miss out on the Tee Higgins sweepstakes would immediately look at him. I trust this FO to get it done if they really want him back and to do it in the best way for the team.
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