Hold Off Paying Godwin
February 7th, 2020
Ex-GM suggests waiting.
There is a cliché that states, “Don’t cross that bridge until you come to it.”
And a former NFL general manager seems to be of the mind the Bucs should heed those words.
In 2019, third-year receiver Chris Godwin totally blew up better than anyone may have thought. Deep down inside, Joe bets Bucs coach Bucco Bruce Arians didn’t see this coming.
Godwin was third in the NFL in yards (1,333) and tied for third in touchdowns (nine). And, which is of great interest to both his agent and his financial advisor, Godwin now enters the final year of his contract.
Now some claim Godwin should be re-upped this offseason. But per the advice of former NFL general manager Michael Lombardi, former coffee fetcher for Bill Walsh, Al Davis and Bill Belicheat, the Bucs may want to hold off.
Lombardi wasn’t specifically talking about the Bucs, but the Chiefs. Super Bowl-winning quarterback Pat Mahomes is two years away from his contract ending and there are rumblings around the NFL the Chiefs should rework his contact.
Lombardi’s advice to the Chiefs on his podcast “GM Shuffle” was to wait, and Joe thinks Lombardi’s logic applies to Godwin’s situation as well.
“I think what [Andy Reid] said about the contract, they are not going to do Mahomes’ contract probably for another year,” Lombardi said. “They need to see what the new CBA is before they do his deal. There is no sense in doing a deal with Mahomes and then have the CBA come out.”
After the Bucs decide on the Big Five free agents (Shaq Barrett, Breshad Perriman, Jason Pierre-Paul, Ndamukong Suh and Jameis Winston) whose bridges are right in front of their Bill Currie Ford F-150, the next big contract the Bucs must worry about is Godwin’s.
So why not wait until the new CBA kicks in? It is scheduled (if agreed to on time) to begin for the 2021 season. That way the Bucs will know how much cash they have to play with.
Does anyone really believe the salary cap won’t go up with the new CBA?
February 7th, 2020 at 8:06 am
Plus odds are if we have a different QB Godwin’s numbers will probably go down anyways so he won’t be able to demand as much money.
Now on the other hand, if you plan on keeping Jameis you might want to lock him up now as his numbers might go crazy high!
February 7th, 2020 at 8:08 am
Godwin has earned it and its smart to wait. 2020 may be the last for #13
February 7th, 2020 at 8:21 am
Waiting is just dumb. Sign the guy now. If he has another explosive year, the cap hit just gets worse trying to sign him, then you have to franchise him or let him walk.
February 7th, 2020 at 8:22 am
I love Godwin but I would wait.
February 7th, 2020 at 8:31 am
Ndog…is Godwin going to play CB for the opposing team with Winston as Bucs QB? That is the best way to up his catch numbers.
February 7th, 2020 at 8:32 am
I can totally see Licht wait until camp starts before negotiations start and a possible extension signed. Don’t want to give the kid money now and have him go HAM in this offseason. Let’s wait for camp and see how he shows up even tho I know he’ll show up in shape and ready to rock. Just my opinion tho
February 7th, 2020 at 8:36 am
Ndog Says:
February 7th, 2020 at 8:06 am
Plus odds are if we have a different QB Godwin’s numbers will probably go down anyways so he won’t be able to demand as much money.
Now on the other hand, if you plan on keeping Jameis you might want to lock him up now as his numbers might go crazy high!
————————
This is what’s wrong in a nut shell. ^^^
Ndog- can you only fathom Godwin doing well/exploding with Jameis, but if a veteran was brought in then he would most likely decline in production???
Lol- dude. Mike Evans and Chris Godwin are both studs. You’ve got it twisted. They make whomever is throwing the ball better not the other way around.
Look at advanced metrics. DVOA for example.
Sorry, not trying to be combative with you on Friday morning, but I just see a major flaw in your lens of processing Godwin’s projected talent based on Jameis vs a Veteran QB.
Odds are Evans and Godwin get theirs with another QB bc they are studs.
February 7th, 2020 at 8:37 am
Hahahahahah
I cant stip laughing
Ndog is ripping people for bias posts
Also , he rips people for bringing up jameis in a negative light when the article is about someone else
The article is about godwin and he is bringing up the jameis angle …
Lets make something clear
ndog is the biggest poser and hypocrite on this site
Oh yah , and he doesnt play favorites for FSU players
😂
February 7th, 2020 at 8:38 am
Pay him now before the cap explodes and he earns even more. Pay him today. Mahomes will be a year away from needing a new contract in 2021 – precisely when Lombardi says pay him. Godwin is there right now. One year left on his deal. Don’t wait for the cap to explode because of the 17rh game – PAY HIM NOW.
February 7th, 2020 at 8:47 am
I’ve been converted. Wait until the next CBA is settled and THEN sign him ASAP. Godwin does a lot of things for this team, not the least of which is making an average quarterback prone to buffoonery look better than he is. His teammates (from what I have read here) look up to him and are adopting his work ethic. When you take a talented dude and put it together with a hunger to max your skills, you have a franchise player. Pay this man!
February 7th, 2020 at 8:59 am
ndog
if his stats go down with “another QB” its because we’re running the ball and chewing clock with the lead instead of throwing the ball trying to gain the lead due to INTs…..
GO BUCS!!!!!
February 7th, 2020 at 9:01 am
pay CG12 now…..
folks were pounding the table to re-up marpet before his contract was up…..
GO BUCS!!!!!!
February 7th, 2020 at 9:10 am
Can’t reward a player for one great season
Let him be consistent then get paid
February 7th, 2020 at 9:15 am
I’m just here for Ndog’s comments .
February 7th, 2020 at 9:17 am
I’ve said all along that we need to wait.
People claiming we’ll get him cheaper now are not really thinking it through.
Mike Evans gets $20 million per year, so Godwin would likely get close to that, seeing as Evan’s deal was made years ago.
So, just for an example, let’s just assume Godwin gets…$16 million per year if a deal is done now.
And than assume if we wait, he might get $20 million per year next year in a deal.
That means we’d be spending $16m in order to save $4m (not to mention signing bonus).
But if we wait, we save $15+ million this year.
Simple math says we should wait.
Otherwise, the price of our offense will price us out of our defensive line.
February 7th, 2020 at 9:19 am
813bucboi Says
“folks were pounding the table to re-up marpet before his contract was up…”
And did the Bucs do it?
February 7th, 2020 at 9:20 am
Loyal, using that logic do we also not re-up Shaq? Of course not. That said I’m not opposed to waiting because the guy is still under contract. And the CBA situation is real and fluid.
February 7th, 2020 at 9:27 am
Lombardi…is a buffoon at best. “Ex GM” c’mon . On a technicality I spose. No way does that joker know wassup.
Nonsense.
On Chris, it will only cost you more later, when it’s a core player on your team. Pay the man #2WR money.
February 7th, 2020 at 9:42 am
bonzai
uh….YES…lol….
he was scheduled to become a FA at the end of the 2019 season just like d.smith….
marpet signed his contract in OCT 2018….a year before his contract was up….bucs still had a year left on his rookie contract….
bucs rewarded marpet for his play….why would they wait to pay CG12?….reward CG12 for his play…..
GO BUCS!!!!!
February 7th, 2020 at 9:44 am
footballjunkie Says:
February 7th, 2020 at 9:27 am
On Chris, it will only cost you more later, when it’s a core player on your team. Pay the man #2WR money.
BINGO!!!!!
GO BUCS!!!!!
February 7th, 2020 at 10:02 am
Give Godwin a new contract right after signing the five big D-line Free Agents.
February 7th, 2020 at 10:04 am
The whole purpose of redoing Godwin’s contract now is to pay him more now and in return Bucs save money on the overall contract…….we wait….we pay more.
Makes absolutely no sense to wait.
February 7th, 2020 at 10:17 am
sign perriman & have three 1,000 yard receivers this year – maybe
February 7th, 2020 at 10:17 am
Steven007
Different situation
Godwin is under team control for up to 3 more years
February 7th, 2020 at 10:19 am
You wait…This off-season is all about resolving the QB / Front-7 questions.
If the FO gets’s through FA and the Draft… & still has significant 2020 Cap space…Maybe then you lay the groundwork & try to extend in 2020, but not before you get to camp.
February 7th, 2020 at 10:22 am
You don’t give him a new contract, YOU EXTEND his current contract and move the bonus money into 2020 that way you reduce his overall cap number over the life of the contract. We have leverage now. Next year Godwin will have the leverage
February 7th, 2020 at 10:29 am
Conversations like this get to be amusing after awhile. Bucs can’t afford to re-sign all the UFAs who did well for us last year, much less even consider re-doing Godwin’s contract a year early. Matter of fact, there’s a very good chance IMO we won’t even be able to afford him in 2021.
Folks keep pointing to the fact that we’ve got $85 mil salary Cap space right now. Whoopee … it’s almost meaningless. What is meaningful is who we have under contract & who we still have to sign or re-sign. Bucs have some EXPENSIVE UFAs to re-sign at this point, hopefully JPP, Barrett, Suh AND Nassib on defense for starters (JUST those 4 are probably in the $45-$50 mil range).
On offense I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see Jameis re-signed (tagged for around $24 mil) but not Perriman (we don’t have the money IF we re-sign our defensive UFAs first & a QB first). If we DID have the money (which I’m convinced we don’t), I would hope that the Bucs would re-sign Perriman as our #3 WR BEFORE kicking out an additional $15 mil PLUS to re-do Godwin’s contract. Re-doing his contract won’t help us win anything this year.
The sad fact is that the Bucs have done an awful job of building a TEAM through the draft AND of developing players, until VERY recently. Well, the chickens have come home to roost. We paid a very heavy price last year, but we’re about to pay a MUCH heavier price this year. Those 1-year ‘try-before-buy’ contracts for a number of our key players are now being stamped ‘PAY ON DEMAND’. And without those top performers, we’re right back in the cellar where we were. I’m really hoping that BA can unjumble this mess that JL created. It’s no easy task.
February 7th, 2020 at 10:29 am
Enough with how good Evans and Godwin are. It is debatable if they made Jameis money or vice versa. What is not debatable is that Jameis made Brate and Humphries more money than they are worth.
Now as far as Evan’s and Godwin’s numbers going forward, with Jameis you have a Favre slinger type where he throws it all over the place. (Unfortunately, like Favre, to the other team as well). So the WR numbers could possibly be similar this coming year. On the other hand, a different type of QB coming in, (say a Bridgewater or this older version of Brady and Rivers) it is a guarantee that one of those two stud receivers above will not hit the numbers they just had. But the TE and RB’s will go up.
Furthermore, Evans and Godwin both ended the season with hamstring problems. May not be a terrible idea to trade Evans prior to this season before the hamstring completely tears. Hamstring injuries have a tendency to linger so having one of your best receivers with that issue as opposed to two of them sounds better to me.
February 7th, 2020 at 11:31 am
I’m all for trading Evans after 2020, if the Bucs do not make a play-off run…Which would also likely mean the FO & Coaching staff get blown-up.
If the 2020 season goes south, Licht gets fired & BA re-retires…In that scenario, the new GM will need to “get his guys” in place & Evans would be logical trade bait at that point…His dead money # drops significantly after 2020 & after new CBA is in place his age 28-30 salary structure will seem very reasonable for the caliber of player he has been.
February 7th, 2020 at 11:31 am
Neither ME or CG will hit high production numbers if we bring in a game manager…sure we will have less interceptions, which will bring with it less attempts of the deep ball !!!
February 7th, 2020 at 12:03 pm
We all see Winston has a history of INTs, but he also has a long history going back to college to now making pass catchers better than they actually are.
February 7th, 2020 at 12:05 pm
If we can give him WR2 money now it would be a lot cheaper than if he hits FA and teams are offering him WR1 money.
February 7th, 2020 at 12:08 pm
If we win more games with a new QB, make the playoffs, and Evans and Godwin put up slightly lower numbers, does anyone believe that you will hear any bitching on their part?
NFL Football decision makers care about winning. Period. Not fantasy football stats.
February 7th, 2020 at 12:16 pm
I know a lot of you will bash me for saying this and it’s no knock on Mike Evans…Evans is a beast. I wanted Evans when they drafted him and he’s been phenomenal. However, when I first learned of and saw Chris Godwin as a rookie he looked like close to an Antonio Brown like clone. The kid has it all and I personally feel like he is the best overall WR on this team. I hate to say this but I think Trading Evans to a WR needy team for a high draft pick or picks if possible would free up some much needed cap space, gain some fire power in the draft and look for some serious speed at the wr position. Utilize the tight ends more and incorporate the Rb’s into the passing game more. I would not let Godwin go at any cost and if that means trading Evans as much as I’d hate to see him go I think it would be good for the team in the long run. Someone would give up a decent pick for him at least one. Go ahead and bash away!!! Love ya Mike but you making a ton of money. Same goes for Brate, either get rid of Howard or Brate but you can’t carry them both it’s too much money at the position.
February 7th, 2020 at 12:25 pm
Big Hog … You’re exactly right about ME or CG not having high production numbers if the situation (QB, scheme, whatever) changes … and that would be a VERY GOOD THING. The reason why they (together) put up such high numbers this year is (1) crappy running game; (2) scheme; (3) productive offense.
Bucs only ran on 37.7% of our offensive snaps, a very low number by even today’s standards. BL’s scheme didn’t favor the RBs OR TEs in the passing game very much, and the other WRs really didn’t step up to the plate until late in the season. And because our offense was productive, we ranked in the Top-3 in terms of most offensive snaps, thus ME & CG were gonna get a bunch of targets by design.
So if we improve the running game in 2020, and increase the run-pass ratio to something more in line with what good teams do (say a 45-55 split) then our rushes will increase by 80 and our pass attempts should go down by that same amount (assuming total plays stays the same). Thus fewer targets for ME & CG.
I’d also expect that BL will use the RBs & TEs more this year to add more ‘diversity’ to our air attack scheme. When the ‘bad guys’ stack the box to take away the run and KNOW pretty much who you’ll be throwing to, it PROBABLY makes the pass defense MUCH easier to design & operate. Personally I still think that was one of the reasons why Jameis threw so many INTs on the shorter stuff (19 of his 30 INTs were less than 15 yards as I remember).
February 7th, 2020 at 12:39 pm
BucEmUp … I don’t necessarily disagree with you about ME13, BUT … it’s VERY doubtful that he’s going anywhere this year. He’s coming off a season-ending injury, and he’ll be making $18,350,000 in 2020 with a $18,150,000 dead Cap hit. Too rich for most teams’ blood most likely.
Now next year is a different story. ME13’s salary drops to $13,850,000 with a dead Cap of only $4,800,000 so that’d be a lot more tempting to other teams. With the Bucs due to have Chris Godwin, OJ & LVD all due for new contracts in 2021 … and very likely a large QB contract due in 2021 also … it’ll be had to afford BOTH ME & CG. You can only kick the can down the street for so long before you need to find a new can.
February 7th, 2020 at 1:46 pm
but then you can get godwin cheaper now then especially if the cap goes up.
February 7th, 2020 at 5:43 pm
Defense Rules…….Jeez bro your kinda way out there with that take. Your calling it a mess that JL created?….Yeah what a crappy job he did brining in good free agents who we actually want to keep around?? Next time tell him not to find us a sack leader. Then we don’t have to worry about paying him?
Look bro they are likely gonna have to let go of either Suh or Nassib. I’m guessing Nassib. And you probably let go of Perriman since he earned a big payday.
Niether of them are key players. More situational. In you can’t replace that in an entire draft then the right guys aren’t running it.
Not to mention you can find other free agents who cost less that can do just as good if not better…..Don’t look now but our pro scouting team nailed it last year.
So you may continue to believe it’s a mess but I will that mess every freaking day if it nabs me an All Pro Sackmiester and the leagues best run defense…….Actually I’ve been begging for a “mess” like this for 2 decades.
February 7th, 2020 at 6:27 pm
So which NFL team is going to offer Jameis $25-$30 million/year ?
Bucs?
Bears?
Dolphins?
Broncos?
Raiders?
Chargers?
Colts?
Only Bucs would pay that much…even Gruden has more sense
February 7th, 2020 at 6:37 pm
And Godwin is a great football player- maybe the best player on the team.
He blocks, catches, makes tough YAC and is a top 10 receiver in NFL