Buccaneers: Long-term deal not expected with Chris Godwin, and that is ok

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are not expected to agree on a long-term deal with Chris Godwin by today’s deadline, and that is fine for the the Buccaneers.

The deadline for NFL teams to reach agreements on long-term contracts for their players that were slapped with the franchise tag is July 15th. Otherwise, these players will have to play out the 2021 season without a long-term deal and will be set to become free agents at the end of the season. Per reports, and as of this writing, such a deal is not expected between the Buccaneers and Godwin. That may be cause for panic for some, but there is really no need to worry at all.

This is in no way saying Godwin isn’t an excellent wide receiver. He is. Losing such an arial weapon would certainly be felt in the locker room. For starters though, there’s no reason the Bucs can’t just reach a long-term agreement with Godwin after the season. That is still very much on the table and should help ease the minds of fans.

However, what if such a deal isn’t reached? Well, it’s obviously not an ideal scenario, but not one that’s cause for concern either. With the NFL being the passing-dominant league it is, the feeling is that in order to succeed a team needs a superstar quarterback and stud receivers for him to get the ball to. However, this frame of thinking has become somewhat mythical when it comes to receivers, especially in the Buccaneers’ case.

For starters, Tom Brady is the quarterback of the Buccaneers. That in itself should prove alone that the Buccaneers shouldn’t overvalue the position, since Brady has made a GOAT-worthy career out of throwing to middle-of-the-pack to above-average wide receivers.

There’s also the issue of cash. Wide receivers command big money on the open market. Signing Godwin on such a deal would hinder the Bucs chances of spending the “bucks” (forgive the pun, couldn’t resist) on their plethora of upcoming free agents on the offensive and defensive lines with deals set to expire. Games are won and lost in the trenches, and that’s where the priority of Jason Licht and the Buccaneers front office should lie. Besides, the chickens will come home to roost eventually when it comes to the salary cap after all the restructured deals this past offseason.

Again, Chris Godwin is a phenomenal receiver. In a perfect world, he’ll be back in a Buccaneers uniform. Fans don’t need to panic about the situation, because there’s an excellent chance he is back. If he’s not though, that’s perfectly ok as well. The main point is, there’s no cause for pause when it comes to this situation. All that matters is he’s here for at least 2021, ready to get that second ring.