Buccaneers: What’s Best For One Free Agent, Might Not Be For Another
Chris Godwin has now been tagged by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers! 2 down, 1 to go! Will Shaq Barrett follow suit now that Lavonte David has now also signed his deal?
We all had a pretty good idea that after weeks of speculation, Chris Godwin may get tagged by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and now the football Gods have reigned down their good fortune upon Bucs Nation as it has now come to pass! “So let it be written, so let it be done!”
Adam Schefter broke the news yesterday morning with the following tweet:
Will the Bucs get a deal done now with Shaquil Barrett? Well I sure hope so, but in the crazy world of free agency, anything can happen. With a projected $15.8M tag, that certainly helps with financial security for Godwin and his family, something he mentioned he really wanted. This also gives the Bucs time to work out a long term deal with him, provided he still produces. And if he does, why wouldn’t they?
The Buccaneers need all of “their guys” back
More from The Pewter Plank
- Devin White posts cryptic message to Lavonte David on Twitter
- ESPN predicts surprising outcome to Devin White trade saga
- Updated Buccaneers depth chart after signing two players from rookie minicamp
- Todd Bowles sends clear message about Baker Mayfield’s role with Bucs
- The Athletic is wrong about Bucs one ‘must-watch’ game in 2023
So will they get that last ‘big’ piece done then? Can Tampa create sufficient cap space to give Shaq what he’d like as well? Will enough be able to get done with contract restructuring and all to free up the needed space? After last year, I wouldn’t bet against Licht and Arians. But that’s never for certain either.
Knowing that Shaq and would love to come back to the Bucs, he may also dip his toes in the free agency waters, if nothing else but to see what he ‘could’ get on the open market.
Do I blame him? Absolutely not! BUT, that also doesn’t mean he’s going to go anywhere else either, regardless of the possibility. Buuuuuut you never know. The grass isn’t always greener, but that emerald allure sure can be mesmerizing at times!
Other smaller, but no less important FA signings would be Ndamukong Suh, Antonio Brown and Will Gholston, among others. Will they be lured away by that sweet siren of the almighty greenback, or do they see all of what Tampa has to offer beyond merely a payday? As of this writing, those decisions haven’t yet been made, and time will tell.
But let’s also not forget that there are more things than just monetary factors that come into play with these decisions that free agents need to or should consider. Chris Godwin seems to be pretty savvy with his decision making processes, and apparently understands that getting paid more elsewhere may not be worth the trade off for being put into a potentially worse situation.
Another team and coaching staff may not gel with him as much, nor may other players. He may not be pushed in a way that brings out the best of his abilities as BA and his staff have done for him to tap into the best of those capabilities, and so on.
It seems he and Lavonte, and hopefully Shaq, see that although getting paid is wonderful, it’s not everything, of course either, and what’s good for one player, may not be for another.
Let’s hope the Bucs are a market, and organization, that is conducive and enticing enough for these players to want to stay in and be a part of for years to come.