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Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Chris Godwin has had a down year after his big 2019, but the team will look to get him signed on a longterm deal or, if they can’t, will use the franchise tag, per the Pewter Report’s Scott Reynolds.
Godwin is set to be a free agent this offseason, but this news likely takes him out of the free agency picture. The Bucs don’t seem to be against the franchise tag, as they tagged Shaq Barrett last offseason, and Godwin is a talent that would no doubt have a strong market despite his less than yeasty numbers this season.
The 2019 season was Godwin’s breakout, as he caught 86-of-121 targets for 1,333 yards and nine touchdowns in 14 games. This season he caught 65-of-84 targets for 840 yards and seven touchdowns in 12 games. Injuries hurt, but the addition of Antonio Brown and Rob Gronkowski, as well as Scotty Miller playing well, hurt his opportunities. Add in a new quarterback and no real offseason due to COVID-19, and there were legitimate reasons for a slow year.
Godwin and Allen Robinson are the top names in free agency this offseason and now it looks like Godwin is off the table. JuJu Smith-Schuster, Curtis Samuel, Will Fuller, Corey Davis, Tim Patrick, Marvin Jones, and Nelson Agholor are all set to be free agents, but Godwin is the prize teams won’t get to win.