The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have many difficult questions to answer this offseason before they prepare for the 2025 season. One that no one wants to think about is, “Will Chris Godwin be back in Tampa Bay for 2025?”
The idea of losing Chris Godwin is not a fun one, but after seeing rookie Jalen McMillan breakout, is it more likely?
Chris Godwin will be 29 when next season kicks off and will be coming off a season-ending ankle injury suffered back in Week 8. After being drafted in the third round of the 2017 NFL Draft, Godwin has played well beyond his draft position. During his eight-year career with the Bucs, he has made Pro Bowls and been named to an All-Pro team. In 2024, he was on pace for a career year before his injury ended his momentum.
This brings us to the question: What will his next contract be,, and should the Bucs pay it?
Spotrac speculates that Godwin is set to make more than he did as a base from his last contract despite coming off an injury. He is coming off an expiring three-year, $60 million dollar deal, but Spotrac projects his market value to actually increase to $22.5 million per year.
The Bucs are projected to have just $11 million dollars, before any adjustments, in their salary cap this offseason. The emergence of Jalen McMillan would lead me to believe that the Bucs don’t bring back Godwin, especially if that is the contract value.
Of course, they could offer an incentive-laden deal to boost the value. They also could add various bonuses to make the base smaller but allow Godwin to earn more if he were to remain healthy. All-in-all, I don’t see that happening, or even the team potentially risking disrespecting the former Nittany Lion with that deal.
As much as it may pain Bucs fans, we may need to start looking to the NFL Draft for a potential replacement for the star wide receiver. Jason Licht and his front office have the team ready for the departure, but it doesn’t make it any easier.