One down, a lot more to go.
Chris Godwin, one of the Bucs’ many free agents, was franchise-tagged Tuesday afternoon by the Bucs, according to a Tweet by Adam Schefter.
The move secures the former Penn State man for the upcoming season, and gives the Bucs and Godwin time to negotiate a long-term deal, something both sides seem eager to get done.
The franchise tag for wide receivers is expected to cost around $16 million, quite a pay increase for a guy who has made “only” $4.6 million over his career, according to Spotrac.
While it’s nice to get Godwin locked up for at least 2021, it remains to be seen what the Bucs will do with… everybody else.
Gronk, Shaq Barrett, Lavonte David, and Ndamokung Suh are all key free agents that the Bucs either need to re-sign or replace, and now that they’ve tagged Godwin, but Tampa Bay will only have $2.1 million in cap space if their roster stays the same. Clearly, there are still moves to be made, guys to be cut or traded, and contracts to be reworked, but things need to happen soon.
The Bucs and TB12 are reportedly in talks for an extension, as Brady signed a two-year $50 million deal last year before winning the Super Bowl. This will be the last year of that deal, but with Brady and the Bucs’ success, Brady seems eager to stick around a little while longer, despite turning 44 on his upcoming birthday in August (he has mentioned wanting to play past 45 years old).
We’ll see what other moves take place in the coming weeks before the NFL Draft. But the good news is that one domino has fallen, and maybe the rest will fall soon.
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This article appears in Mar 4-10, 2021.