“That’s The Guy I Kind Of Look Up To”
October 2nd, 2019
General manager Jason Licht and Bucco Bruce Arians might be intrigued to hear this nugget from Bucs safety Jordan Whitehead.
It’s not every day that you an NFL player confesses to looking up to a fellow young teammate, especially when he plays on the other side of the ball.
Whitehead hopped on Buccaneers Radio this week and was asked for his impressions of Chris Godwin, who is on pace for 104 receptions for 1,544 yards and 16 touchdowns this season.
“So Chris, actually when I came in [as a rookie], he kind of like took me under his wing, not really being with him in meetings and stuff, just the way he preps himself throughout the week, takes care of his body,” Whitehead said with tone of reverence. “His work effort is amazing and, you know, he doesn’t complain. He just comes to work everyday, level-headed guy. That’s the guy I kind of look up to. Because he just goes to work and that’s what you need everybody on the team to be to be great. It shows why he’s doing what he’s doing.”
Joe cannot emphasize enough how special it is for Whitehead to say this about Godwin. Keep in mind Whitehead is close with his cousin, retired stud cornerback Darrelle Revis, and Joe believes counseling from Revis is one reason Whitehead played well quickly in the NFL and has now cemented himself as a legitimate starter. The point is Whitehead entered the NFL with a high standards and expectations for himself and picked Godwin — on the other side of the football — to be his “guy.”
Chatter will escalate when it comes to conversations about franchising or paying Shaq Barrett and America’s Quarterback, Jameis Winston. But Joe also expects the Bucs to think long and hard about Godwin’s future in Tampa.
His rookie contract ends after the 2020 season, but typically a guy playing as well as he has would have his contracted extended after his third season (2019). If Godwin stays healthy, he’ll obviously want No. 1 receiver money. Would the Bucs dare pay two receivers No. 1-level money? It’s doubtful, but they will if they keep rolling up 50 points a game.
October 2nd, 2019 at 2:51 pm
godwin is the real deal… i am glad there are few bright spots shinning… hopefully they can have some success so the washed up has been 1 year wonder bums can go back in their holes. living in a failed past with sudo legends is so very sad and pathetic. bucs legends are like a peaches and herb reunion all you got is reunited how you going to fill the rest of the set yet year after year the 1 year wonders spout off and make it all about them whenever possible.
October 2nd, 2019 at 2:53 pm
A BIG yes!!
It’s a passing league now and keep two number 1 receivers and skimp on RB salaries.
October 2nd, 2019 at 2:55 pm
It’ll be interesting to see what’s more important to these players (Winston, Barrett, Godwin, Suh, Jpp), are they going to choose money over building a team that can contend for years to come. In order to keep this teams core together, players and not just the ones mentioned will have to accept a lower salary. I believe our core guys are more about winning, and if this team continues to improve this year and make a push for the playoffs, they may take a lesser contract to stay with this team and coaching staff. At least that’s what I hope will happen, time will tell though.
October 2nd, 2019 at 3:12 pm
It is pseudo TPax. It is best when insulting people not to make yourself look like a moron. BTW have you found the caps button yet?
October 2nd, 2019 at 3:16 pm
If Arians is this good then it begs the question why it took the glazers so long to hire a real coach?
Raheem, Schiano and Koetter are all great coordinators but TERRIBLE….TURRIBLE head coaches. It almost looks as if soneone (glazers) was trying to get away with passing off a subpar product probably to save a few million that they could pocket as “profit”.
AND LOVIE…that was just pure idiocy on the glazers part. Nothing good ever came of Lovie anywhere he went.
So Howard is glad that the glazers were finally conrnered into having to get a real head coach in Arians but they’re still snakes and Howard does not trust them at all for very good readson
October 2nd, 2019 at 3:35 pm
Howard
I’m certainly not about to carry water for the Glazers….ahhh yes I will.
Lovie was an honest mistake…as was Koetter…remember until their “divorce” last year JW and Koetter were reportedly on the same page. Koetter had a reputation as an offensive guru who could work with QB’s…kind of a poor man’s BA. It didn’t work.
The Glazers hosed the Bucs faithful only with the move to hire Rah. That was clearly part of the Glazers slashing of budget in order to afford Man U one of the most valuable franchises in the world. Worth more than the Patriots or Giants…worth more than the Golden State Warriors or Los Angeles Lakers.
The only American franchises worth more…the Dallas Cowboys at #1 and the Yankees at #2 in the world.
We OTOH are 29th in the NFL…nowhere near the top 50 internationally.
So the Glazers overleveraged to increase their family fortune.
Do you guys support free enterprise? How many of you would not take advantage of an opportunity to enrich not your yourself but your entire extended family?
It’s a moot point now however. Man U is making the Glazers big bucks as are the Bucs.
I side with the players in most $$$ debates because the ownrs have enough and they’re not about to cut ticket prices.
October 2nd, 2019 at 3:36 pm
Howard, they didn’t want Morris getting another job so they panic hired him. he was soft so they got schiano and he was too rigid, they thought Lovies basement experiment would do the trick and rekindle the glory day and Dirk was another panic hire due to the interviews. Easy to pick apart now but at the time i understood the hirings but no one can see the future and they all made sense at the time. That’s this will feel sweeter due to the losing. we losta whole generation of Bucs fans who have never seen this team win a playoff game.
October 2nd, 2019 at 3:38 pm
lol t max is such a bitter old man.
Godwin is a stud. It’s gonna be hard to pay him, Jameis and Evans (plus defenders and other guys), but maybe these guys will like playing with each other so much they don’t mind each taking a small discount to make it work.
It’s doubtful, but anything is possible…
October 2nd, 2019 at 3:43 pm
I’d love to keep Barrett and Godwin, and there’s a good chance we could do it, with $82 million in cap for 2020. This is what I would do with all impending free agents (please be patient I’m not a GM and am completely estimating salary numbers):
Jameis- Re-sign $20 million a year
Demar Dotson- no resign
JPP- Trade if we can, don’t resign
Beau Allen- Keep for depth ($4 million)
Breshad Perriman- no way, bum ass receiver with bricks for hands
Deone Bucannon- I have no idea if he’s even played for us? Keep if we must (2.5 million)
Peyton Barber- re-sign for depth ($2.1 million)
Blaine Gabbert- re-sign for depth ($1.6 million)
Darian Stewart- no idea of his effect, but his contract is only $930,000
Carl Nassib- resign if we’re able to, probably around 8 million a year? No idea
Kevin Minter- keep, he’s played well ($1 million)
Rakeem Nunez-Roches- keep for depth ($900,000)
Earl Watford- keep for depth ($900,000)
Josh Wells- keep for depth ($900,000)
Andrew Adams- We don’t need any more “ok” DBs on our team.
Jerald Hawkins- never even heard of this guy, but we need o-line depth so ($700,000)
Michael Liedtke- versatile guy, good backup, keep ($650,000)
Devante Bond- good player but I don’t know if he’s important.
Bobo Wilson- not needed since Licht is good at scouting WRs and we just drafted Scotty Miller
Pat O’Connor- the players love him it seems, good glue guy, backup ($600,000)
Antony Auclair- Good TE for the team ($600,000)
Tanner Hudson- Looked really good in preseason, trade if possible?
Bryant Mitchell- Don’t know who he is
Orion Stewart- Of the late AAF, got injured and hasn’t played. Don’t know how good he is.
Add that all up if I estimate contracts correctly we should have around $36.6 million in cap. That should be enough to keep Shaq Barrett, who’s name I excluded from the above list because I don’t know how much money he commands.
One good bit of information that might cheer Bucs fans up is that Shaq may want to stay in Tampa and in the Bowles system. He wasn’t too successful in Denver (typical 3-4 OLB role) and he comes here and says the Todd Bowles system is unlike anything he’s ever played in before. He might choose to stay in this system in which he’s clearly feasting rather than go somewhere else where he hasn’t been as successful in the past.
October 2nd, 2019 at 3:52 pm
idk…..if push comes to shove and godwin continues his ascent, i would think about trading mike evans for draft picks vs just letting godwin walk…..
he’ll be younger and could proved the same production….
i’d rather have multiple draft picks for evans vs 1 draft pick for godwin if he leaves or we cant sign both….
GO BUCS!!!!
October 2nd, 2019 at 3:53 pm
Godwin without a doubt was the steal of that draft class.
October 2nd, 2019 at 3:53 pm
wheres @LUV when you need him?!!!!…lol…
everyone knows he’s the GM in waiting…..lol…
GO BUCS!!!!!
October 2nd, 2019 at 4:25 pm
Diggs and Thielen signed big deals
October 2nd, 2019 at 4:41 pm
Said as soon as I seen Godwin ge seems like and young Antoino Brown, without being a head case and a way harder worker
October 2nd, 2019 at 4:55 pm
I came UNHINGED on the Justin Evans pick. I knew that was gonna be Godwin. I am still shocked he stuck around until round 3 based on his metrics alone.
October 2nd, 2019 at 4:56 pm
There has been a lot of criticism when it comes to the importance of on the field leadership on this site. True leaders will inspire everyone around them to be better whether it’s the NFL or the corporate world. During the time the Bucs were great we had leaders at most positions!
October 2nd, 2019 at 5:04 pm
We can keep Jameis ($25mil) Evans, Godwin & Shaq……but we will need to let JPP go……and trade either Brate or Howard…..and promote Tanner Hudson.
We simply won’t be able to keep all of them…..I wouldn’t be surprised if we let Suh walk…..VH3 may not make it either….
But…..we can keep our best….
October 2nd, 2019 at 5:13 pm
I think of him as more of a Hines Ward type of player. Great blocker and has a high ceiling in the receiving department.Love the way he seems to have a plan to get the required yardage after the catch. I am against trading Evans anytime in the near future. Evans and Jameis seem to be just reaching their full potential
together. If it aint broke ,don’t fix it.
October 2nd, 2019 at 5:14 pm
JP_09 … In an ideal world, you’re right. Every player would choose a reduced salary to stay with a winning team. Oh wait, Bucs haven’t exactly been a winning team for quite some time now. And coaches come & go, as do other players. Hmmm, sounds an awful lot like being an NFL player is a BUSINESS.
Many years ago I remember hearing a super salesman (I THINK it was Zig Ziglar, but not 100% certain) say ‘Everyone listens to station WIFM … What’s in It For Me’. (I know, not a great speller, but he got his point across). Players have careers to think about, families to provide for, etc, etc. Some (like Tom Brady?) can afford to give a ‘hometown discount’ for various reasons (already wealthy?) but most can’t, largely because their career could end the next game with a serious injury. Bottom line I guess is that IF guys are performing like a PRO, they should be paid like a PRO. It’s up to OWNERSHIP and MANAGEMENT to deal with the money issues pertinent to building a winning TEAM.
October 2nd, 2019 at 5:19 pm
TBBF … If Bucs let Suh walk after this year, that’ll be a blunder on par with letting Michael Bennett walk. Take Suh out of our DLine and it’ll be VERY pedestrian. Opposing offenses now have to game-plan for Vea AND Suh as well as Barrett. Take Suh OR Vea out of there and our run defense AND interior pressure will suffer BIG-TIME IMO. And that’s what makes the engine go far as I can tell.
October 2nd, 2019 at 5:31 pm
Resign Godwin and trade Evans
October 2nd, 2019 at 5:42 pm
@Defense
No sh@t it’s a business. But to say an elite player making 10s of millions can’t take a couple million less to win is bs. Most of the bigger contract come with 20-30 million in guarantees now. If you can’t provide for your family with that, your taking up to much air and deserve to eat a buck shot. I understand for the league minimum and practice squad guys, but even they make enough to at least give them some time to figure out how to apply their “degree” in the real world.
October 2nd, 2019 at 5:46 pm
Defense
I like Suh but we will have to cut someone with a big salary to pay Shaq & Godwin, Evans & Winston
I suspect by your post that you don’t have objection to JPP & an Brate or Howard trade…..perhaps Suh can be kept by cutting a few minors like VH3, Perriman etc…..but we don’t have many other places to go.
I suspect our top draft pick will go for a RT & perhaps Dline (that could be a Suh replacement)
Our skill positions are pretty well set.
October 2nd, 2019 at 5:49 pm
Peaches and Herb
I remember lst time you mentioned this…
Fantastic,
Thank you!!
October 2nd, 2019 at 6:05 pm
Godwin must be paid market. If not, I hope he leaves. I’m a fan of the team, but right is right.
October 2nd, 2019 at 6:43 pm
I just read that Shaq missed practice with a groin…
October 2nd, 2019 at 6:49 pm
You can pay Godwin and then start treating him like Evans and renegotiate. There is no reason they both can get paid the next 10 years and have one of the best WR tandems in NFL history. With Hump and Jackson gone, Perriman not stepping up and a cloudy picture at WR #3 these 2 are going to get a majority of the targets with both TE’s getiin the others.
October 2nd, 2019 at 6:54 pm
^ Yup, just saw that as well….
Looks like Barrett missed practice on Wednesday with a groin injury.
Also not practicing on Wednesday was receiver Chris Godwin (hip), tackle Demar Dotson (calf), center Ryan Jensen (back), receiver Breshad Perriman (hamstring), and linebacker Jack Cichy (elbow).
Limited in practice were defensive lineman Vita Vea (neck), linebacker Devin White (knee), and cornerback Jamel Dean (elbow).
October 2nd, 2019 at 6:57 pm
Have to keep Godwin – hear me – he is BETTER than ME13 – faster, more physical, better run after catch, better route runner
Look, Evans is a freak of nature the way he moves at 6/5 240ish and this is in no way is meant to demean him
Right now, if you had to pick one of them…..Godwin is my choice
With some 70mil in cap space next year, we should be able to keep them both and not have to make that painful choice…
October 2nd, 2019 at 7:27 pm
NFL Owners make tons of cash. Why don’t they just raise the cap by 25% for teams to retain star players or give a cap exemption for QBs and 1 Defensive player on each team since they demand so much of the cap. I don’t have the answers buts it’s ridiculous how many teams have to deal with this every year. Drew Brees gets hurt and $30million goes poof. I think it’s stupid.
October 2nd, 2019 at 7:44 pm
Ride the wave while it lasts.
Hopefully the 2020 CBA raises the cap significantly.
Also no possible way to call Godwin the better receiver yet. One has 5 consecutive 1,000 yard seasons, only pulled off by 3 people ever, the other hasn’t had one yet. I love me some Godwin. LOVE! But pump the breaks a bit on that one.
October 2nd, 2019 at 7:47 pm
Super great ideas BigMac.
The idea of the Salary Cap was to assure parity. We have it. Now raise the bar because these owners can afford it.
October 2nd, 2019 at 8:12 pm
JP_09 … Sorry my response got you so riled up that you feel it’s OK to shoot people who don’t share your opinion (unless of course ‘eat buckshot’ means something different in your neck of the woods). Won’t make the same mistake again.
October 2nd, 2019 at 8:23 pm
Jason nailed this pick
I’m hard on Licht and rightfully so but he nailed this one.
October 2nd, 2019 at 8:50 pm
Howard is calling bs on his friendly replies above^.
Schiano, Lovie and Koetter were not honest mistakes they were attempts to build a staff “on the cheap” and they ended with predictable results. No other team has even thought about making any of them a HC.
Should I delve into all the higher-level candidates who jilted the glazers over the years? Why do you guys think that was?
The “fear of Morris going to another team” is utterly ridiculous. Only in Tamps can the media inflate a low-level coordinatoor into HC status. That’s like saying you’re afraid your secratery will take a better job so you’re not going to hire a CEO….it makes absolutely no sense…it’s patently absurd
But that’s the bucslife we’ve come to know LOL
October 2nd, 2019 at 8:55 pm
Howard has always liked LIcht:
* Licht did not pick Lovie. He was stuck with Lovie
* Licht is a pretty damn good talent evaluator and drafter
* THE ONLY reason BA is here is because of Licht. Without Licht he joins Parcells, Kelly, Mooch and Gruden as coaches who flirted with the glazers and then said “no way”
Enjoy the BA run that’s hopefully coming but beware the man behind the curtain
October 2nd, 2019 at 9:07 pm
Anonymous Says:
October 2nd, 2019 at 5:31 pm
Resign Godwin and trade Evans
Put the crack pipe down and learn about football
October 2nd, 2019 at 9:15 pm
Godwin is Flippin’ Incredible.
However what we are witnessing is not Godwin alone. It is him being opposite of Evans. When a QB can go to Either one at will then it is that double edged sword for the DC. Double one, single or zone the other. WE as Bucs fan Finally have that with a QB who delivers the football, wobbly and a bit off spot sometimes, to All of his weapons. I Guarantee, living in a state without One professional sports team, that Every fan I know would prefer a ME13/CG12 tandem to what they have. Specially Packers fans. Lots of em here.
October 2nd, 2019 at 9:26 pm
@Defense
Sorry your uptight and take things so seriously, but yeah if a player complains about making 20 million instead of 30 million “so they can provide for their family” they can still eat a shell or two. Just my opinion, sorry it triggered you
October 2nd, 2019 at 9:26 pm
TBBF … Suh has made all the difference in the world to our DLine. Bucs would be a much different defense without him.
October 2nd, 2019 at 10:24 pm
I love Godwin like the next man but he is NOT ready to be a number 1 quite yet. His success for far is a testament to ME13. He getting tripled out there so Godwin BETTER look good. We can say Godwin is a better fit than djx at number 2
October 2nd, 2019 at 11:22 pm
@joe
I compared Chris Godwin to Jerry Rice during his rookie year.
Teacherman is a a Prophet.
October 2nd, 2019 at 11:51 pm
I love Godwin. I know Big Ben went down but juju would be a shell of what he was last year without brown taking up so much attention. It’s prudent to keep both Evans and Godwin. Plus mike already took a pay cut and I can honestly see Godwin taking less than Evans. I see posters saying we will have 70 million in cap space and that should be enough to retain a lot of key cogs and fill in necessary holes on the roster
October 3rd, 2019 at 1:13 am
If you were around when the Bucs were the Super Bowl Champion you would know that some of our Bucs were willing to take less money so we could retain all our stars because they wanted to play together. Don’t forget that we need to keep our star DL together including William Gholston and Suh as well as Vea. They all three are critical to our stopping the run. We also can count on Licht to find many more future stars lower in the draft for BA to develop so as when our stars fade from advanced age we will have great replacements ready to step up. When we are perrenial winners there will be Free Agents too, willing to take less pay for the hope to earn future Super Bowl Rings. As long as we keep BA and Licht we are GOLDEN! Enjoy Bucs Fans. There can be many great years ahead to reward all our long suffering Bucs Fans. At long last!!!
October 3rd, 2019 at 11:23 am
teacherman777 Says:
October 2nd, 2019 at 11:22 pm
@joe
I compared Chris Godwin to Jerry Rice during his rookie year.
Teacherman is a a Prophet.
———————
And Godwin is NOTHING like Jerry Rice. Rice was known for speed, amazing hands, and length. Godwin has good timed speed but isn’t nearly the deep threat Rice was, is known for his toughness, run after catch, blocking, and hands. He’s like a faster Anquan Boldin.
October 3rd, 2019 at 11:37 am
People comparing Godwin to Rice need to slow down! Like comparing Dak Prescott to Dan Marino.
The Hines Ward comparision is pretty apt. Anquan Boldin is pretty accurate as well. Rice? Please!
October 3rd, 2019 at 12:26 pm
SB
“It is him being opposite of Evans.” Exactly. Not that he wouldn’t put up some big numbers without him…and he could be a #1 on the right team…ME IS A #1 period.
You would think Bucs fans would know this instantly. Can you say Alvin Harper…very good alongside Irvin…Mediocre here as a #1.
D.R. Like many here who have spent anytime in sales and tried to study the craft…I’ve always admired Ziglar. One of his favorite topics…”Stinkin Thinkin”. I use that phrase to this day.