Bucs Face Tough Decision With Future of Chris Godwin

A brutal ankle injury hit Tampa Bay's Chris Godwin in Week 7's loss to Baltimore. The stand out receiver's 2024 season ended suddenly after leading the team in receptions through seven games. The injury happened during a 21-yard catch. Medical teams rushed to the field, putting on an air cast before carting him off. For Godwin, this makes it his second shortened season in just three years. Now the Bucs have to determine if Godwin will have a future with the team.

Godwin can't catch a break. He tore his ACL and MCL in 2021. Before that, 2020 brought both hamstring issues and concussion problems.

The injury puts Tampa Bay in a tough spot financially. Their 2025 salary cap takes an $18.852 million hit from his reworked contract. Making matters worse, the 28-year-old is a unrestricted free agent this offseason on March 12. The Buccaneers organization, including new offensive coordinator Josh Grizzard, hopes he will return for the 2025 season. However, Pro Football Focus ranked him at No. 4 of 50 in their 2025 free agent list. With potential teams with cash like the Los Angeles Chargers or Carolina Panthers might scoop the strong WR. 

Josh Grizzard's offense will need to adapt. Similar to Miami's strategy, they'll use more pre-snap movement to confuse defenses. Expect more deep passes to put points on the board quickly.

Baker Mayfield's running ability could be key. His scrambling has helped Tampa Bay reach an NFL-best 51.1% success rate on third downs.

In the weeks leading up to the start of the new league year and free agency, The Buccaneers are going to look at 10 players who are currently poised to become unrestricted free agents in mid-March, starting with Chris Godwin.