According to Adam Schefter of ESPN, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have placed the franchise tag on wide receiver Chris Godwin. Godwin, who was previously an unrestricted free agent, proved to act as a vital weapon on the Tampa Bay offense last year. The 25 year-old veteran reeled in 65 receptions for 840 yards and 7 touchdowns in the regular season alone. Despite not even necessary qualifying as the best wide receiver on the team last year, Godwin received much admiration and interest from other teams around the league. According to PFF, Godwin has an 88.9 PFF Grade since 2019, 10th among WR’s. Had the Buccaneers not put the franchise tag on him, Godwin could have very well found himself in a different uniform in 2021.
How Much Will Godwin Make in 2021?
Money-wise, wide receivers playing under the franchise tag should expect to receive upwards of $16 million in 2021. That type of money should qualify as a huge step in the right direction for Godwin, as he is just coming off of his standard rookie deal. The 84th overall pick signed a four-year, $3.3 million contract with the Buccaneers in 2017. With the new one-year franchise tag, Godwin should find himself among the most prestigiously paid wide receivers in the NFL.
Tampa Bay’s Free Agency Situation
Due to Chris Godwin coming back to Tampa in 2021, the Buccaneers now have multiple key free agency situations that they will need to address. On the defense alone, Ndamukong Suh, Shaquil Barrett, and Lavonte David will all receive the opportunity to look elsewhere for a big payday in March. On the offensive side of the football, Leonard Fournette, Rob Gronkowski, and Antonio Brown all stuck out as key X-factors for Tom Brady in 2020. Unfortunately, not everybody will receive the privilege of returning to the defending champions. As Bruce Arians expressed himself, there’s only a certain amount of players the Buccaneers can go after.
As Arians stated, “For us right now, it’s just keeping this team together. And that’s probably going to eat up most of the salary cap if we can just keep or five or six guys that we want to keep on this football team, and keep the closeness and the accountability factor that we have in the locker room.”
Free agency will officially start on March 17th at 4 p.m. EST. Until then, the Buccaneers will have many key factors to consider. Do they specify on improving the offense or defense? Who comes and who goes? There’s been talks about bringing in Odell Beckham Jr., although those could just be rumors. Even if Beckham does come, it might require someone else to leave. However, that’s only for speculation, as the front office makes those decisions.