Keep Him!
February 26th, 2022
Priority, says Hall of Famer.
Former Cowboys front office suit Gil Brandt was instrumental in helping build two dynasties in the Lone Star State. So when he is talking football skills, Joe is listening.
And Joe hopes Bucs shot-callers are listening to Brandt in this one instance.
In a column Brandt typed for NFL.com, he listed priorities for each NFL team in free agency. (The dinner bell rings in less than three weeks). No matter who the Bucs have lining up behind center in 2022, Brandt said the Bucs really need to re-sign receiver Chris Godwin.
…Godwin remains a player worth investing in, a rising young star receiver who could help elevate whoever takes the QB reins.
Joe agrees. Of course, the trick is, does Godwin want to return if the Bucs haven’t signed or named a starting quarterback? And can the Bucs lure a quarterback if Godwin leaves? It’s really a chicken-or-the-egg thing.
Godwin earned $16 million last year. Franchising him again would cost under $20 million. He probably wants at least that much per year on a long term deal. Last year, the Bucs paid O.J. Howard a shade over $6 million. Dumping Howard and using some of his cash should help sign Godwin, if he wants to stay and play with the Bucs’ new quarterback.
February 26th, 2022 at 9:33 am
All this “who the QB is” is way overblown…..players might claim that’s top priority like Conklin…..but that’s a smokescreen to get more money…..
Godwin will sign if the money is right and worry about who the QB is later.
February 26th, 2022 at 10:07 am
The question is not – “should the Bucs keep Godwin?”
The question is – “should Godwin keep the Bucs?”
If Godwin is willing to stay in Tampa after he is offered a huge deal from Dolphins/Charges/Jags/Colts/etc.
February 26th, 2022 at 10:10 am
**** Hopefully – Godwin is willing to stay in Tampa after he is offered a huge deal from Dolphins/Charges/Jags/Colts/etc.
February 26th, 2022 at 10:41 am
Hell stay, but I agree no WR wants to get there head torn off because a young dumb QB is setting them up. And all WRs want there numbers, so a vet and good QB will help with that
February 26th, 2022 at 10:54 am
There is no such thing as allegiance in this league unless..You have a great QB who can win. Goodwin looks at Gabbert and Trask and says, hell, No. If I were him, I’d just take the highest bidder and make my paper. If that’s the Bucs fine. If not? Hasta Luego baby.
February 26th, 2022 at 11:14 am
If trimming some fat/age (Jensen, Gronk, trade TBs right before he makes a fool of org taking up 9 mil of cap this yr and returning to another team in 2023, JPP, Brate, Pinion, Howard, etc), there is room to wiggle. But if blowing up the ship with hopes of floating to victory on a Watson life raft, we’ll be fed more Brady drama throughout the season than winning football.
Bon appetit
February 26th, 2022 at 11:28 am
Theres no need to dump Howard hes already gone
February 26th, 2022 at 11:34 am
Sign Jimmy G, he two losses in the deep playoff run and SB were to the teams the won the SB that season KC & Rams. All this guy does is win.
February 26th, 2022 at 11:38 am
This only confirms the obvious. Noone disagrees that Godwin is priority #1 for the Bucs. He apparently wants to stay. So, let’s get it done.
February 26th, 2022 at 11:50 am
At best Godwin is a mid tier, injury prone, number one receiver. If he’s looking for more than 20 per year then let some other team make the mistake of paying him that much. Less than 20 and I’d love to have him back.
February 26th, 2022 at 12:09 pm
I agree that it is the Money, not who the QB is, that is most important. But, if the receivers contract is based on a lot of Incentives, then who the QB is, is very important.
February 26th, 2022 at 12:28 pm
Of course it matters who the QB is. If the money is equal, why on earth would he rather play with Trask or Gabbert as opposed to Justin Herbert. His chances of both winning, and putting up bigger numbers, are astronomically bigger with a good QB. That would in turn, lead to more money in a future contract. Apparently he wants to stay, but the bucs may need to outbid the market, especially if you’re bidding against a team with a quality starting QB. Now if it’s between the bucs and another team with a crappy QB, so long as you arent outbid, he’ll probably stay. But, to say the QB doesn’t matter, is ignoring human nature.
February 26th, 2022 at 12:34 pm
Bucs will have to pay 30% over market value to keep him. Godwin’s no dummy and knows how bad it was here before Brady arrived. No way does he stay unless the money is beyond what he ever imagined.
February 26th, 2022 at 12:53 pm
I’d like to see Bucs trade DS for whatever they can get to free up 18mil. Then move Wirfs to LT.
February 26th, 2022 at 1:22 pm
Wether you or not you are a rookie QB or the GOAT doesn’t matter when it comes to throwing WR’s into injury.
The GOAT injured Godwin.
TB12 threw a horrible pass into coverage and Godwin’s knee was blown up by the Saints defender #26 on that throw.
#26 for the Saints was sitting and waiting for Godwin on the crossing route. Brady led Godwin into #26 who went low and blew up Godwins knee that was planted in the grass.
TB12 is responsible for that read, throw and injury to Chris Godwin.
Tape don’t lie.
February 26th, 2022 at 1:26 pm
Belle, every quarterback who has ever played any number of meaningful games will have thrown a pass that results in an injury to a receiver. Whether under fire or not, all passes are not perfect. Blame the defender who went low likely purposefully. To blame Brady is ludicrous.
February 26th, 2022 at 1:27 pm
For Brady to have injured Godwin, he would had to deliver the hit that injured him. Silly talk. You sound like Munch who continues to insist that a first round pick was not a first round pick.
February 26th, 2022 at 1:44 pm
@ Mike Johnson: Sheeesh – why the negativity about Trask? He is the great unknown because he hasn’t suited up for a game. Dude played in the SEC and played well. It’s not like he suited up for Eckerd college in St. Pete.
February 26th, 2022 at 1:45 pm
You have a problem with the tape.
I find you to be ignorant and lacking in football intelligence as well as debate skills.
Everything I stated was a fact.
The absurd equivocation that you make about first round picks to deflect from my play analysis shows how lacking you are in mental debate acumen.
It is an undisputed fact that TB12 threw a crossing route to Chris Godwin with a defender sitting in zone waiting to kill Chris Godwin.
Going low is legal. There is nothing wrong with #26’s tackle. The strike zone for tackling has been lowered per the NFL and the NFLPA.
#26 performed a perfectly legal and devastating hit to Chris Godwin because of TB12’s decision and throw.
That’s indisputable. It’s what happened. Now I await your ridiculous response about how my film review of a football play has anything to do with draft picks.
February 26th, 2022 at 1:56 pm
Belle, absolutely nothing you said in your rebuttal to my comment, by the way this is not a debate, in any way takes away from what I said in response to your weird point. Again, Tom Brady did not injure Chris Godwin. This is a fact and is not debatable. Did Brady throw a pass that resulted in Godwin being injured? Yep. But he didn’t injure him. The defender injured him. And that’s all there is to it. You can attempt to use rhetorical calculus to conceive your weird conspiracy, but that doesn’t make it true. I stated facts, you’re stating conjecture. In the service of what, I’m not sure. Perhaps you can share.
As for the first round pick thing, regulars around here will know exactly what I’m talking about. Obviously over your head. Certainly wasn’t using it to betruss my point.
February 26th, 2022 at 1:58 pm
Also, I never said the defender did anything illegal. I said he went low which he did. Didn’t have to but that’s what he chose and Chris got injured.
February 26th, 2022 at 1:59 pm
BelleGlade you just undermind your debate cred with the comment: “I find you to be ignorant and lacking in football intelligence as well as debate skills.”
There truly could not be a finer example of a poor debate tactic other than just saying, ‘I’m right, you’re wrong.’ Oh wait, kinda what you did. Na-nanny-boo-boo
February 26th, 2022 at 2:03 pm
Belle, to make this easy for you which seems to be what needs to be done, imagine this scenario. I’m in a bar and I toss my buddy a beer. He catches it and then some other guy plows into him and hurts him. Who’s at fault? Think hard. Apples and oranges I know, but apparently you need to see it a different way. The irony being on a football field there is always a reasonable expectation of injury. Now let all these things dance together in your head and let’s see if an epiphany arises. I won’t hold my breath.
February 26th, 2022 at 2:14 pm
@007
First, I’ve been around Joe Bucs Fan for years.
Secondly, I didn’t force you to make ridiculous statements about first round picks when the topic of my post had nothing to do with first round picks. By doing that you’re the one engaging in ridiculous “theories.” You chose to do that. Own it.
TB12 threw a crossing route with a defender sitting in zone waiting for that route.
TB12 should never have thrown that pass. It was a bad decision. Because of TB12’s bad decision Chris Godwin was hurt.
When a QB is injured like Alex Smith or Joe Theisman by a DE or LB like JJ Watt or LT because of the poor play of the Offensive lineman against JJ Watt or LT, I don’t blame LT or JJ Watt for injuring the QB when they deliver a perfectly legal hit. I blame the poor offensive line play.
Football is a sport where your actions as a teammate can lead to the direct injury of your teammate. Your decisions on the field have consequences for your teammates.
Maybe you didn’t know that. From where I come from and the football I played there, we know that fact. But my hometown is known for football being taken seriously. Maybe in yours they don’t take it as seriously as in mind.
February 26th, 2022 at 2:17 pm
I don’t understand why Joe thinks last year’s oj Howard salary has anything to do with this year’s cap. The BUCS cannot take his 6 million from last year and use it for anything, they have less than 3 million in space and cannot create more without restructuring contracts or releasing/trading players. There is already 205 million committed to the 2022 cap regardless of anyone’s salary from the previous season
February 26th, 2022 at 2:20 pm
Here’s a question that needs to be asked. How many wins did Mr. 30-30 throw away in 2019? The final record was 7-9. There were, at a minimum, three games that were lost on turnovers that season. 10-6 would have been good enough for a wild card spot.
Expectations need to be brought back to reality now. Just getting a playoff berth should be the goal. Hell, we won the Super Bowl as a 6 seed. Let’s quit acting like we were some unstoppable force in 2020.
February 26th, 2022 at 2:25 pm
Lots of rhetoric, but the facts unfortunately for you, remain the same. But good try.
February 26th, 2022 at 2:31 pm
Can’t we all just get along?
TBBF’s debate skills suck….so there…..debate that!!!
February 26th, 2022 at 2:37 pm
@Steven007
JJ Watt destroyed Alex Smith’s leg and sent him to the hospital for surgery to reattach his leg because the Washington Offensive Lineman and who made poor decisions in his pass blocking that allowed JJ Watt to sack Alex Smith.
LT destroyed Joe Theisman’s leg and sent him to the hospital for surgery to reattach his leg because the Washington Offensive Lineman and who made poor decisions in his pass blocking that allowed LT to sack Theisman.
#26 destroyed Chris Godwin’s leg and sent him to the hospital for surgery to reattach his ligaments because TB13 and made a poor decision in his pass decision options that allowed #26 to legally tackle Chris Godwin.
Talking ball isn’t your strong suit 007. I await your ridiculous civilian life comparison to what happens on the football field.
February 26th, 2022 at 2:39 pm
@Steven007
JJ Watt destroyed Alex Smith’s leg and sent him to the hospital for surgery to reattach his leg because the Washington Offensive Lineman made poor decisions in his pass blocking that allowed JJ Watt to sack Alex Smith.
LT destroyed Joe Theisman’s leg and sent him to the hospital for surgery to reattach his leg because the Washington Offensive Lineman made poor decisions in his pass blocking that allowed LT to sack Theisman.
#26 destroyed Chris Godwin’s leg and sent him to the hospital for surgery to reattach his ligaments because TB12 made a poor decision in his pass decision options that allowed #26 to legally tackle Chris Godwin.
Talking ball isn’t your strong suit 007. I await your ridiculous civilian life comparison to what happens on the football field.
February 26th, 2022 at 2:42 pm
@Steven007
This is Pop Warner stuff. When there’s grass you throw it. When there’s color sitting you don’t.
I expect a Pop Warner QB to mess that simple concept up. I don’t expect the GOAT in TB12 to make that mistake.
I guess my expectations are a little different than yours.
February 26th, 2022 at 3:14 pm
Mike Johnson … ‘Godwin looks at Gabbert and Trask and says, hell, No.’
Disagree Mike. Every NFL player knows full well that fortunes can change overnight (ask the 2020 Bucs or look at the 2021 Bengals). Godwin knows this team & coaching staff very very well after 4 years here, and he’s seen it go from a 5-11 record in 2018 when he came here to a 13-4 record in 2021. And oh ya, make the playoffs twice & win the SB once.
Bottom line on a 2nd contract though ends up being money. That’s usually a player’s BIG contract, and landing a 4-5 year deal in Chris’ case for say $70-$100 mil (with usually half guaranteed?) easily sets them up for life. In the final analysis, football’s a business and as Tom Cruise said in ‘Jerry McQuire’ … ‘Show me the money’.
February 26th, 2022 at 3:41 pm
Lucky for the Bucs we own Chris Godwins rights. We can tag him if he doesnt want to sign. So it doesnt matter what Chris wants if we are determined to keep him……..Given that Bruce loves WRs Im guessing they are not going to let him walk out the door.
The only problem is plauers hate getting tagged in multiple years. Its led to quite a few holdouts. I think the Bucs get that and is why Licht has never done so.
I expect all parties to sit down like men and get Chris inked to a longtegm deal at fair value. The Bucs may also be more willing then any other team to give Chris a longer deal with more guaranteed money…….And the guaranteed money 100% means more to the players then the annual average. Thats our bargining chip.
February 26th, 2022 at 4:37 pm
I love it when people act like they know what a player is thinking.
Jeff Says:
February 26th, 2022 at 12:34 pm
Bucs will have to pay 30% over market value to keep him. Godwin’s no dummy and knows how bad it was here before Brady arrived. No way does he stay unless the money is beyond what he ever imagined.
2019 Godwin was part of a offense that threw for over 5K. He had 9 TDs had 1300+ yard averaging 15.5 yards per catch. I bet he was miserable.
February 26th, 2022 at 5:45 pm
Good post GotBucs.
I agree.