TAMPA, Fla. ― Chris Godwin still has a long road to recover from a devastating knee injury, but he may have an extra bounce in his step.
Unable to strike a long-term deal with their leading receiver, the Bucs on Tuesday nonetheless designated Godwin as their franchise player for the second year in a row.
The decision means Godwin is guaranteed to earn 120 percent of his 2021 salary ― a whopping $19.18 million ― this season. The Bucs plan to continue talks and hope to reach an agreement that would minimize the impact on the salary cap prior to the July 15 deadline.
It wasn’t the best outcome for the Bucs, who have nearly two dozen players set to become unrestricted free agents when the negotiating period begins Monday. But they couldn’t fathom starting the 2022 season without the 26-year-old Godwin, who led the team with 98 receptions for 1,103 yards (he also scored five touchdowns).
Godwin will be among the NFL’s highest-paid receivers despite sustaining torn anterior cruciate and medial collateral ligaments in his right knee following a hit by Saints defensive back P.J. Williams in December.
Using the franchise tag on Godwin will have a negative impact on the Bucs’ ability to retain their own free agents, such as cornerback Carlton Davis, center Ryan Jensen, guard Alex Cappa, running back Leonard Fournette, tight end Rob Gronkowski and safety Jordan Whitehead, to name a few.
Negotiations between the Bucs and Godwin’s representatives continued even as Tuesday’s 4 p.m. deadline for designating players with the franchise tag approached.
The Bucs were hopeful to lock up Godwin, which would enable them to use the franchise player designation on Davis or another key player.
Godwin played last season under a franchise player tag of $15.983 million. Unfortunately, the injury could have affected his value on the open market.
The Bucs aren’t sure when Godwin will be able to resume football activities, but it’s possible he could miss parts of training camp, the preseason or even regular-season games.
Coach Bruce Arians said last week at the NFL scouting combine that Godwin was about 45-percent recovered from his injuries but clearly has a long way to go.
But Godwin is such an important part of the offense, especially given his impact as a blocker in the running game, the Bucs simply didn’t want to potentially lose him to free agency.
General manager Jason Licht said last week, “it would be hard for me to imagine moving forward without Chris.”
It’s extremely unlikely that the Bucs would designate Godwin as a franchise player for a third time in 2023. Based on the collective bargaining agreement, they would have to guarantee him approximately $27 million on a one-year deal.
So Godwin could elect to play under the $19.18 million franchise player tag this year and become an unrestricted free agent in 2023.
Without Godwin, the Bucs would have been a little thin at the receiver position. Mike Evans returns for his ninth season. But last season, they didn’t get much from Tyler Johnson or Scotty Miller and had to rely on free agent Breshad Perriman and practice squad receiver Cyril Grayson.
Godwin entered the league as a third-round pick of the Bucs (84th overall) in 2017. He was named to the Pro Bowl and earned second-team All Pro honors in 2019, when he finished third in the league in receiving with 1,333 yards. Godwin has 342 career receptions for 4,643 yards and 29 touchdowns.
It marks the seventh time the Bucs have used the franchise player tag since it was created in 1993. In 2020, the Bucs applied it to linebacker Shaquil Barrett, who signed a long-term deal last March.
The Bucs will look to restructure some existing contracts for players such as Barrett or Vita Vea to create more room under the 208.2 million cap for 2022.
