Tampa Bay Buccaneers add flexibility by tagging Chris Godwin

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers placed the franchise tag on Chris Godwin. The move adds options for the team and Godwin’s long-term future.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are beginning to piece together another team to defend its championship. On Tuesday, the Buccaneers placed the franchise tag on Chris Godwin. By placing the tag on Godwin, the team can continue to negotiate a long-term contract while still ensuring Tom Brady has one of his top weapons back and won’t lose him 2021 NFL free agency.

Compared to his 2019 Pro Bowl season, Godwin’s numbers were down last season. Part of this could be due to him missing four games to injury and also getting Tom Brady acclimated to the new offensive system. Despite this, he would have drawn major interest in the open market. Now the Buccaneers will not have to compete with other teams. For his sake, Godwin has said he would be willing to play under the franchise tag.

With Godwin coming back next year, the team can now focus on other areas to either sustain or improve the roster. This includes a better running back for the passing game on offense and keeping the defense intact. This is important for the 2021 offseason because according to Over the Cap, the Buccaneers have surpassed the salary cap.

Moving forward, the team could look to get Godwin committed to a long-term contract with a bigger cap hit coming in the future rather than it hitting the 2021 salary cap. He plays a critical role in the Bruce Arians offense since he can play the big slot previously manned by Larry Fitzgerald and Hines Ward for different teams. Arians prefers a player who can hold his own in the running game for that position as opposed to someone smaller like Scotty Miller or even Julian Edelman.

Another long-term option for Tampa Bay is to keep Godwin and eventually move on from Mike Evans. This wouldn’t happen this year or possibly even next season. Evans carries a cap hit of over $18 million in 2022 and 2023.

Godwin does not play the same style as Evans, but perhaps the team could find the role Evans plays more replaceable than what Godwin can give them in his role. Maybe Scotty Miller and Tyler Johnson take over the outside deep role for the team.

Only time will tell what the Buccaneers might do, but with Godwin coming back, the team will continue to have one of the best wide receiver tandems in the NFL again next season. Along with Tom Brady, the offense will have the firepower needed to repeat.