Godwin to be tagged; David to re-sign for 2021
On Tuesday, the Buccaneers officially tagged wide receiver Chris Godwin, who was set to enter free agency unless tagged otherwise by Tampa Bay. The Buccaneers went ahead to ensure they locked up one of the top wide receivers in the National Football League. Also making a return will be longstanding Buccaneer Lavonte David, who will sign a 2-year, $25-million dollar deal to stay in Tampa Bay.
Godwin had to battle the injury bug for the first time in his career, but nonetheless still put up solid numbers regardless of time missed. The former Penn State star caught 65 passes for 840 yards and scored seven touchdowns for the Super Bowl champions. In the year before in 2019, Godwin surpassed the 1,000-yard mark with Jameis Winston under center.
There was mutual interest in getting a deal finalized by the time free agency hit, but with so many free agents to tend to, the Buccaneers opted to just tag Godwin for the 2021 season instead. Tampa Bay has a laundry list of players that are slated to hit the free agent market and many are key contributors to winning the Super Bowl. Amongst the big names are Shaq Barrett, Rob Gronkowski, Antonio Brown and Leonard Fournette.
Godwin to be tagged along with David’s re-signing now has the Bucs looking into how they can maneuver through free agency and bring the core of the team back. Amongst one of the biggest rumors this off-season is Brady’s want for Tampa Bay to trade for wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr., who plays for the Cleveland Browns. A trade like that would require some magic from general manager Jason Licht.
The NFL announced on Wednesday the salary cap will be set at $182.5 million for 2021. There’s a slew of players that would need to comeback in order for Tampa Bay to remain atop of the National Football Conference and NFL for that matter.
