“It Wasn’t All Scotty’s Fault”
February 12th, 2021
Future.
Now we have inside information on the great Bucs mystery of 2021.
What exactly happened to Chris Godwin’s phone?
Of course, video captured Godwin during the wild Bucs boat parade pleading with a phone company to hook him up with a new phone because Miller dropped his phone in the Hillsborough River.
Joe thought one thing: Bad Scotty!
Miller later denied this.
This morning, Godwin hopped on “Good Morning Football” and was asked about this tragedy. Godwin gave the blow-by-blow of what happened.
You see, Godwin said, while it was crazy on the receiver and tight ends boat, at one point it appeared Miller was falling off the boat. Godwin just happened to have his phone out at the time and as Miller was starting to take the plunge, Godwin grabbed Miller and saved him from falling in the drink.
As Godwin grabbed Miller, his phone was knocked out of his hand and dropped in the water.
“It wasn’t all Scotty’s fault,” Godwin confessed.
As for Godwin’s future, co-host Kyle Brandt asked Godwin how are the Bucs going to keep the 2020 Bucs band together. Godwin didn’t tip his hand other than to say he really would like to stay.
“Obviously it would be very key to keep the whole team together,” Godwin said. Keeping “the main guys [together] so we can run it back. But we understand what is going on. But [Bucs coach Bucco Bruce Arians] is a great coach and this is a great organization. I’m confident that they will figure it out.
“I love it here, man. I love Tampa. I have a real good [connection] with my dawgs on the team.”
As Joe has stated, the offseason priorities should be as follows: No. 1A, make Shaq Barrett happy or at least franchise him (again); No. 1B sign Godwin. No. 2, do not let Ryan Succop walk out the door.
You can see Godwin’s full segment from the NFL Network video below.
“I’m a Super Bowl Champ, baby.”@CGtwelve_ joined #GMFB!
We talk all things SBLV, playing with @TomBrady, keeping the @Buccaneers together in 2021, celebrating the SB win with his Fiancé, @MillerTime___10 dropping his phone in the water during the boat parade and more! pic.twitter.com/tXUCAzckfq
— GMFB (@gmfb) February 12, 2021
February 12th, 2021 at 1:21 pm
Joes’ stated priorities don’t include LVD and despite his age, this is a mistake I hope Licht won’t make.
Does LVD really want to start over with a bottom feeder? The cap is going down for everyone. If someone really puts a Bobby Wagner type offer out to LVD then the Bucs can’t afford it, but I don’t see that happening.
February 12th, 2021 at 1:21 pm
Gives me a good feeling somehow they will make it work with him. Barrett I’m uneasy about… Feels 50/50 at best even though we desperately need to hold onto great last rushers. Very hard to replace
February 12th, 2021 at 1:25 pm
Would love to keep him. Sadly, there’s a salary cap.
You know what Joe thinks of pass rushers. And look how long it took to get one (a decade). You won’t find anyone available who is as good as Shaq. Without a pass rush, not sure the Bucs beat the Packers much less the Chiefs.
Even when Lavonte David was in his prime, how was the Bucs defense? Fairly awful until the team found a pass rush.
February 12th, 2021 at 1:27 pm
So Godwin still can’t shake the dropsies…
February 12th, 2021 at 1:31 pm
“Even when Lavonte David was in his prime, how was the Bucs defense? Fairly awful until the team found a pass rush.”
Spot on Joe. The Bucs defense from 2014-2018 was one of the worst spans of pass defenses ive ever seen. LVD is good, but hes not a game changer like Shaq can be.
LB’s are easily replaceable pass rushers are not. Licht should know this by now. Break the bank.
February 12th, 2021 at 1:33 pm
Am I the only person who thinks LVD should be our #1 priority?
February 12th, 2021 at 1:39 pm
Godwin’s as good as gone. Too much WR depth to sink that much $$$ into one position…even if ME restructures.
February 12th, 2021 at 1:43 pm
hate to break to you all, but I think CJ will get a better offer and walk. If it’s the same offer and either AB or CJ I think we keep AB. IMO
A lot of pieces to this puzzle will change this year…not just because of the salary cap, but because a lot of player want to come here….and if they will take less than our current guys, well, thats business.
February 12th, 2021 at 1:44 pm
Did anyone else think at least one player would end up in the water? I thought that would have been funny as long as no one got hurt and I guess I shouldn’t assume everyone can swim like us natives. ( See: Sapp, Warren) Gronk fell off the bow of his boat but backwards into the boat.
February 12th, 2021 at 1:46 pm
it seems a lot of people forget Shaq was invisible most of the year
February 12th, 2021 at 1:47 pm
Front 7 should be our #1 2 and 3 priority… Lenny’s great but RBs are a dime a dozen, AB aint going no where he owes everything to Tom and I think he really enjoys playing with him just like Gronk.. and on that note thats why getting the boys back on D is everything, because as this year proved players (vets) will come to tampa on the discount so that they can chase a ring and tell their grandkids one day that “they used to play and caught footballs from the GOAT Tom Brady” … Focus on the D and the rest will fall in place…
February 12th, 2021 at 1:51 pm
Who is CJ?
February 12th, 2021 at 1:53 pm
Joe did you see where BA told Peter king he loved jameis but jameis wasn’t the guy??? He said he knew the d was good and would get better. He said he told Brady if you come we’ll win the super bowl!!!!!!
February 12th, 2021 at 1:59 pm
Bamarich I do agree with you. Really tough decisions coming up. Godwin seemed to get the offense going sometimes when we were sputtering. Hard to deny Shaq. He showed up at the most perfect time but where was he all season and he had a great year last year but this year in the season wasn’t like last year. I think LVD is almost just as valuable. Devin white doesn’t get to where he is without LVD mentor ship and the fact that they both compete on who can make the better plays. LVD has a few more good year left deff 1 at lest sign him. JOE YOU CANT BALME LVD FOR THOSE BAD DEFENSES he’s one guy on a very bad team it’s a team sport 1 man doesn’t win games
February 12th, 2021 at 1:59 pm
NO Saints were 100 mill over the cap, why can’t we??
Let’s do it again!!!!!
February 12th, 2021 at 2:10 pm
@Joe. The Bucs found a pass rush when they drafted Vita Vea. Not just because of Shaq. I do agree there isn’t a pass rusher as talented as Shaq but it’s Vita that makes this D Line tick. We were meh with Shaq (he had a decent year not great) when Vea was out. Vea comes back in and Shaq’s stats soared. Vita pushes the whole pocket back and forces QB’s to move. This and the fact that he requires a double team is what sets up Shaq and JPP. They are both great players but Vita is the magic. The dropoff with a guy like Watt may be pretty negligible. Can’t afford to lose a game wrecking tackle and coverage machine in LVD.
February 12th, 2021 at 2:31 pm
CG…oops
I do thin LVD will want to close out his career here and take a fair rate. Imagine having losing all those years and how it must feel now for him. I’m sure he appreciates that and probably would not want to go to a bottom dweller provided the offer is fair.
February 12th, 2021 at 2:35 pm
Buc1987 Says:
February 12th, 2021 at 1:27 pm
So Godwin still can’t shake the dropsies…
………………
Um CG was ranked 16th out of 481 players that caught passes this yr.
SMH
February 12th, 2021 at 2:39 pm
Shaq and Godwin deserve a big contract. Licht NEEDS yo find a way to keep them. They are top priority.
Every other free agent should be offered a fair but team friendly deal. If they want to chase money then let them. That sadly inludes LVD. He has been my favorite buc for the last 10 years.
IMO order of priority.
LVD
Succop
Gronk
Suh
Howard
AB
Fournette
With delayed incentives you should be able to sign those top 2 guys.
They should also ask jensen, marpet, smith, evans to restructure
February 12th, 2021 at 2:56 pm
Every single one of these players should take advantage of their abilities and skills and do what their heart tells them. Especially older guys like Lavonte. He toiled here a looong time and finally got to realize his dream. Others should weigh the options. Go after the cash? Good for you! Stay here and chase another Lombardi? We welcome you back. Follow your dreams either way. These players owe the fans NOTHING. They gave us a historic championship. GO BUCS!
February 12th, 2021 at 2:58 pm
Joe we keep David before we keep Godwin. The reality is AB is probably staying so if one has to go Godwin is leaving.
February 12th, 2021 at 3:15 pm
AB will come much cheaper than Godwin. And can we really sink nearly 30 million dollars in salary into our starting wide receivers? Not with all the holes on this team. Someone will overpay for Godwit, but he earned a big contract. Love to see him stay but he seems one of the more likely ones to move on.
February 12th, 2021 at 3:19 pm
Someone said that Scotty Miller is Gronk before the Captain America serum. That’s all I can think of now when I see him.
February 12th, 2021 at 3:25 pm
The last thing i want tampa to do is replace godwin with AB. Godwin has the potential to take over the #1 spot for years to come. AB is a liability waiting to happen. I would love to keep AB as a #3 if he is willing to sign a 1 year 5 mil contract. But if he wants multiple years or high money let him find it elsewhere. He is a phenomenal player, but not a future cog like godwin can be.
February 12th, 2021 at 3:37 pm
Godwin and David should be priorities if you’re all keeping score. Be a shame if money broke up this juggernaut of a team. The best is/was to come…
February 12th, 2021 at 3:42 pm
Godlovesbucs
Yup.
February 12th, 2021 at 3:47 pm
Godlovesbucs – if they replaced Godwin with AB, it would be because of the cap, because AB would likely get less than half of what you’d pay Godwin.
You need to look at it the other way around, if the Bucs can’t afford to keep Godwin, then they need to make sure they do keep AB, who would likely get around $7-8m since I think the market for him is going to be very limited since most teams won’t even consider signing him. The Packers and Ravens are likely the top two teams that we’d be bidding against and I know the Packers are having cap issues.
February 12th, 2021 at 3:50 pm
Joes right . Sack barrett came up with big timely plays vs chiefs and packers. Is
It worth breaking the bank? the dline will be a weaknees if shaq leaves thankfully Arians and brady will give quality input to licht. I do feel like arians has helped with lichts draft success
February 12th, 2021 at 3:52 pm
What 2 better people to ask on whether to keep godwin or not than brady and arians,
Confident the rigjt decision will be made on godwin
February 12th, 2021 at 3:57 pm
A few things here. 1. We have three FA in the top 10 of the FA market. Shaq being number 2 over all. He will try and capture a vast amount of money for his services which to me in 2020 was subpar at best. I truly feel that he held back because of his displeasure in regards to being franchise tagged and only put forth a real effort in the playoffs and Super Bowl. I know some will mention his pressures but give me a break, the man was playing to not get hurt waiting for another team no matter who it is to pay him his money, as much as possible.
2. Chris is an awesome receiver in an awesome receiver corps. I think if Chris would sign a multi-year deal he probably can secure his spot for a few years on this team. As far as his drops go he hurt is hand during a game and he had difficulty playing during it’s healing process. Remember folks he caught some stellar passes from Brady on deep routes. and he was a contributing factor to getting us the victories this season. To lose a pure talent such as his would be ignorant on our part.
3. David is a underrated LB who deserves to retire as a Buccaneer. He put forth a lot of great effort in his tenure and should finish his career in Tampa. I believe he is another who could benefit from a multi-year deal with plenty of incentives attached.
4. Scotty Miller and Chris’s phone. I would be saying “Beam Me Up A New Phone Scotty” heheh GO BUCS!!!!
February 12th, 2021 at 3:59 pm
Rod- I understand cap restrictions make it tough. And if they cant keep godwin then yeah, they need someone else, and brown isnt a bad option. I would just do everything possible to give godwin 17 per year instead of brown 7 per year. With deffering money to future years when the cap shoud bounce back, they should be able to keep about 75% of the f.a.
February 12th, 2021 at 4:13 pm
Godlovesbucs – The only issue with Godwin at $17m, is that you’re already paying Evans $16m, which goes to $18m after that. That’s a ton of money at the WR spot. If Winston was still the QB then I’d gladly say pay it, you want dominant WRs who can make big plays. But with the way Brady moves the ball around, I’m not sure how much value you have there. The cap just makes it impossible to keep everyone, and if you can get AB for $7m and saving that $10m means you can bring back David, then I’m going to do that. Ideally they can find the money to keep everyone, but it’s going to be tough.
It is incredibly important that the Bucs have a legit #2 WR, because they can’t lose Godwin and AB and think Scotty Miller can be the guy there, he can’t, and he’ll get completely shutdown. Also while Tyler Johnson might be coming along great, again, I don’t want to bet my season on him being able to get open vs starting corners. Another option would be to draft someone high, maybe even in the 1st round, but you just never know what you’re getting with rookie WRs so it’s a huge risk.
But with the cap, paying Evans (16.5m) and Godwin (17m), and bringing back Gronk at probably $8-10m and keeping either Brate (6.5m) or OJ (6m)… it’s going to be really tough to spend all that money on offense – and that’s assuming they let Fournette walk, if they want him as well, then it’s going to be really impossible to bring back Godwin.
February 12th, 2021 at 4:13 pm
Gotta get creative with these contracts. Back load them and gamble that the cap with go up in the next season or 2. Cap Hell will be worth it 3 or 4 years down the road if it gets us a mini dynasty the next 2 seasons. Then we can blow it up and re-enter the dark ages we are all accustomed to.
February 12th, 2021 at 4:23 pm
Colonel Angus – I completely agree with you, if you can keep this team together but it means cap hell in 3 or 4 years, then who cares, do it – keep this window open for as long as possible. Everyone should be OK with making that pact with the devil. Even the stupid Saints, who were $100m over before Brees retired, are only really going to be in cap hell for a year, and that was by kicking the ball down the road for many years. The Bucs should not have any fear of doing the same thing, knowing it will come crashing down at the end, but a drunken boat parade or two or three is totally worth it.
February 12th, 2021 at 4:26 pm
That’s fair. About that time all the DBs will have their rookie contracts run out. Brady won’t be here and neither will Arians. In cap hell you can get a good draft pick, get a QB and start rebuilding.
February 12th, 2021 at 4:32 pm
Doesn’t sound like it was Scotty’s fault at all.
February 12th, 2021 at 4:35 pm
Angus. Those dark ages are what we want to avoid. We know them all too well. Let’s not justify lacking a sense of awareness by backloading contracts that we know will doom this franchise in a few years. We could end up with no more Championships and a rebuild project. I’d rather sacrifice our losses (Shaq) unless he is willing to bite on a lesser deal to stay here. I’m inclined to doubt that he will. Godwin and LVD and our draft picks should take priority. The telltale sign for me is the difference with and without Vea. Vea is worth that 15-20 million a year when that contract eventually comes knocking. Shaq didn’t come alive until an angry Vea came back. Shaq’s price tag may just be too much. While you say that these players don’t owe the Bucs anything, the same can be said for the Bucs franchise. Shaq just got paid in 2020. They don’t owe him any more favors.
February 12th, 2021 at 4:36 pm
Cainishere,
You’re fos regarding shaq! Spend a few minutes and listen to him in one the many interviews he’s done within the last 3 weeks. The franchise tag was a life changer for him and now is long term security.
I read not just you, but a seeming herd , all saying the exact same thing about his play was avg until Vea returned. Look at Suh and you can say the same thing. JPP as well to a degree.
Pay attention, what does mean.
One, Vea is an anchor on the line . He allows other players to make the plays. He makes shaq, JPP and Suh better .
Two, not one single degenerate super fan ever mentioned let alone consider, is JPP and shaq started the year on different sides of the field. Once they both returned to their previous side, they both improved. But by then Vea was injured., so the full impact was muted until Vea returned.
Three, shaq was getting to the qb, consistently early in the year , but he was a 10th of a second from a sack time and time again. You know what that means? I’ll help….e…f….f…o..r…t.
My apologies but there is a limit to how much stupid is allowed to go unchallenged. I consider this soft zone that hit the red zone. Enough lies about the character of a player who just won the superbowl. This win was for both the idiot fans and the intelligent ones. The hate , however, still is the exclusive byproduct of the former, hours after the biggest win in buc history, just look at what comes frothing forth from your pie hole . Its like too much avocado tequila on a hot summer day, vile and hateful!
February 12th, 2021 at 4:37 pm
It
February 12th, 2021 at 4:42 pm
I think Godwin’s as good as gone, because we only have so much money to go around, and hopefully we try to keep our defense together.
Yes, I love Chris Godwin, but remember that we have Tom Brady, who has won with average receivers, because he is so good.
February 12th, 2021 at 4:43 pm
What Chris Apple says
February 12th, 2021 at 5:02 pm
I am not hateful D1 and insulting people does not prove your point in any way. He did slack off and he was bitter they franchise tagged him. When a guy goes from 19 1/2 sacks with no playoffs to a full season with most of his sacks coming in the post season after being franchise tagged then yeah I am going to think he slacked up to not get hurt. He played better in the post season due to the rewards financially of winning it all a ring and more money in the next FA period. That man is in no way going to take a team friendly contract period. If you think he will you are just kidding yourself. As far as your comment about how the franchise tag changed his like financially I heard it differently. I heard when he was asked about whether or not he would be returning to Tampa he said “I would like to return, I have to think of my family’s security” When you are the second highest graded FA on the market you just simply aren’t going to take a team friendly contract. Notice I did not call you Stupid or FOS or any of that spew you threw at me. It’s almost as if you are Shaq yourself and butt hurt about it. lol
February 12th, 2021 at 5:12 pm
I think Godwin has been arguably the most important receiver on this team and would love to see him re-signed. That being said I think they should prioritize the D-Line over receivers because we have some decent depth at receiver and drafted players that can play. Defensive linemen are more important and harder to find in the draft. Hopefully we can figure out a way to keep both.
February 12th, 2021 at 5:16 pm
Rod- personally, I would rather have godwin over brown, howard and brate. And gronk will prob be closer to 5 mil. He only wants to play with tom. Replacing what howard or brate and brown bring to the team in draft is easier than replacing godwin.
Ultimately my biggest fear is a scenario where brady has no true #1 to throw the ball to just like this year when godwin and evans was out and it was browns 1st game. No one familiar to be the focal point. Injuries are always a concern, bit brown ads another possibility in suspension or just being mentally checked out when he isnt happy. So far he has been great, but it would be huge to gamble on him being a 2-3 year productive teammate. I do think we can clearly agree that there are som extremely tough decisions for the gm. I for 1 am glad im not making them, and I also feel Brady and arians/bowles will get who they need to keep. Who that is, nobody knows.
February 12th, 2021 at 5:21 pm
Tom Brady didn’t come to Tampa Bay for average receivers. He came because of Evans and Godwin. Do what needs to be done to resign Godwin. Licht said, possibly drunkenly, they had the resources. Let’s see it. And do not let Succop get away! He’s gold.
February 12th, 2021 at 5:53 pm
My guess. I think Suh may retire and Shaq is not going to be able to turndown the huge payday offers he gets from other teams. Lenny, Godwin, David will be back for sure. AB will probably be back too. Draft trenches.
February 12th, 2021 at 6:29 pm
Free Scotty!
February 12th, 2021 at 6:55 pm
Shaq Barrett can be replace easy as long as the center of the defense is strong. Come on Joe you know better
February 12th, 2021 at 7:10 pm
Unless Godwin wants to take a deal well below market value, he’s not gonna be here next year. This is where we can save some cap space. How does this sound:
Evans
Brown
Johnson
Miller
Gronkowski
Brate or Howard
Sounds pretty good to me with Brady at the helm and not Jay Miss!
February 12th, 2021 at 7:27 pm
@D1 … “Vea is an anchor on the line . He allows other players to make the plays. He makes shaq, JPP and Suh better”.
I always especially love your takes on our defense D1, and for the most part agree with you on this one. But I’d take it one step further: Vea AND Suh anchor the line. It’s the COMBINATION that’s deadly because TOGETHER they can’t consistently be blocked.
Bucs went 3-2 in the first 5 games, then Vea got hurt & missed the remaining 11 regular season games. Who anchored the DLine then? Nunez-Roches? Gholston? Nope … it was Ndamukong Suh. Without him for those 11 games, no way the Bucs even make the playoffs.
Vea came back for TWO playoff games. Against the Packers he had 33 def snaps (46%) but logged no tackles, TFL, sacks or pressures. Against the Chiefs he had 31 def snaps (41%) and logged 1 tackle, 0 TFLs, 0 sacks & 2 pressures. What he DID do though was to protect his gap AND eat up blockers, lots & lots of blockers. Nice way to let guys like Shaq & JPP feed off the center push.
It’s vital IMO to keep this starting defense together. That means re-signing LVD, Shaq AND Suh. It’d also be really smart IMO to re-sign Nunez-Roches & Minter as a minimum. Don’t fix what’s not broken, although it would be nice to add a high pick DE/OLB, a DT and a LB via the draft. Doubt we’ll have much free $$$ to be signing many defensive FAs other than our own this year.
I loved having him back for those 2 games, but reality is that we don’t even get to play those 2 games without Suh.
February 12th, 2021 at 8:44 pm
Bamabuc I feel the same way bro LVD should retire a buc him and Evans !!@
February 12th, 2021 at 8:47 pm
LVD & Shaq on a 4 year deal to spread out the $.
That takes LVD 234 and retirement probably. It takes shack to 32 and the end of his prime.
Godwin- spread his out and make it real cap friendly next year over 6 years. He’s only 25.
After that, it’s about depth. Suh is important but not crucial. Minter as a back up is probably more important.
Fournette and AB are luxuries at this point and I think both take a money grab somewhere else. It would have to be one hell of a discount to stay here.
I definitely agree that Succop should be re-signed as well. Just like edge rusher, they’ve been searching for a kicker for ever. Other than the occasional extra point, he’s been pretty damn reliable
February 12th, 2021 at 9:07 pm
Suh should be re-signed as well- Aaron Donald, as good as he is, numbers went down when Suh came to Bucs and Bucs subsequently became no 1 run defense . His impact should not be underestimated and thinking McCoy is a reliable replacement for Suh is laughable.
February 12th, 2021 at 10:25 pm
Godlovesbucs – I don’t completely disagree with you, if it’s Godwin or AB+Howard+Brate, that’s a steep price to pay, but I think you do it. However with as much as the Bucs used two TEs late in the season, I think Brate or OJ will be back – and in my mind I’m putting the money into keeping David. If Gronk is willing to take only like $5m – then you likely can offer a lower deal to Brate as opposed to cutting him, would be hard to say Gronk is getting $5m and Brate is getting $6.5m as a backup. OJ is still on his rookie deal, and my understanding is you can’t renegotiate it, at least without cutting him first.
The Bucs can, if they’re willing to do it, kick the ball down the road and just do a bunch of extensions.
Also, the big lotto ticket is the rumors about the NFL getting a new TV deal and announced, and that impacting the 2021 salary cap. Most teams are short on cash, so its in the interest of the players and most teams to get something done, if that is done, if we’re talking about a cap that goes up $20m instead of down by $10m, then man, that perhaps bails the Bucs out. Then again, all the other teams would have more money too and salaries would inflate.
It’s going to be interesting to see how they handle things, but Licht has earned my trust. So long as Arians doesn’t pull a Gruden and get Licht fired the way that Gruden got McKay fired, we should be good.
February 13th, 2021 at 8:24 am
Robert Says:
February 12th, 2021 at 1:43 pm
hate to break to you all, but I think CJ will get a better offer and walk. If it’s the same offer and either AB or CJ I think we keep AB. IMO
_________
Dumb opinion reinforced by the fact his last name begins with a G and not a J. Hooked on phonics did not work for you, son.
February 13th, 2021 at 8:30 am
There is one player on our roster that can step in for CG… that’s Tyler Johnson. Not AB. Two totally different positions. The slot WR in the BA offense is asked to block…. a lot. Hines Ward, Fitzgerald, Godwin. AB and Miller could not possibly do it.
That being said. Order of priority…and keeping Brady happy and loaded with weapons.
Godwin
David-will be cheaper than Barrett
Barrett
Succop
Gronkowski
Gronk might be higher on the list.
Bucs are about $30 m under the cap.
The key for almost all of these guys are backloaded deals. Very small base salaries for 2021, small signing bonuses, and then escalator clauses, roster bonuses, and higher base salaries in 2022 and beyond.
February 13th, 2021 at 9:18 am
I do believe Howard is good as gone.