Tampa Bay Buccaneers Franchise Tag WR Chris Godwin

Prior to the March 9th deadline, the Buccaneers have placed the franchise tag on wide receiver Chris Godwin.

This story has been updated to include a more recent franchise tag salary projection from NFL.com, instead of Over the Cap.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have officially placed the franchise tag on wide receiver Chris Godwin, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN. 

Godwin, who was a vital piece to the Buccaneers 2020 Super Bowl team, will now be back in Tampa on a one-year tender. The tag itself, which is projected to come in around $15.8 million for wide receivers, will allow Godwin to be paid amongst some of the best wide receivers in the entire league.

The fourth-year Penn State product had a productive 2020 season despite dealing with injuries along the way, hauling in 81 receptions for 1,072 yards and eight touchdowns in 16 games, including the postseason. Godwin has been a steady contributor at the receiver position alongside wide receiver Mike Evans, making the duo one of the best WR duos in the entire league. 

The move to tag Godwin was expected, and both sides have an interest in extension that would keep Godwin around for the foreseeable future. 

With other players to re-sign such as Shaq Barrett, Rob Gronkowski, Lavonte David, and others, Godwin's long-term deal has been put on the backburner as general manager Jason Licht tries to return the core of the 2020 Super Bowl team first. 

"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

— Good Morning Football (@gmfb) February 12, 2021

Back in February, Godwin made an appearance on ESPN's Good Morning Football and had the following to say about a return to Tampa. 

“That would be great [to return to Tampa]. It would be key to keep the whole team together, you know the main guys together so we can run it back. But we understand what is going on and BA is a great coach and I am confident that the organization will figure it out. I love it here and I love Tampa and I got a really good bond with my dogs on the team and how we can perform.”