Will Chris Godwin Move On From the Buccaneers in 2022?

Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer believes he will.

One of the key factors in Chris Godwin's season-ending injury is the fact he is playing on the franchise tag in 2021. For those unfamiliar with how that works, it's a one-year deal worth up to a certain amount depending on the tagged player's position. 

That means Godwin will be a free agent in 2022. While there is a chance the Bucs could tag him again, a second tag would include an additional 120% mark-up next year. Right now, Godwin is making $15.983 million. Another tag means he'd make slightly north of $19 million in 2022, alone.

Franchise tags come straight off the top of the pile, too. There is no option for void years or backloading the deal. Considering the fact that the Bucs currently have 27 pending free agents in 2022 and right around $33 million in cap room, it doesn't look like Godwin will be tagged again in 2022, therefore, he'll likely hit free agency and have teams bid on his services.

The Bucs could always re-sign him to a long-term deal, which would allow them to pay Godwin a ton of money up front via signing bonus and push the bigger cap hits toward the end of the deal, but Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer doesn't think that will happen.

Breer wrote the following on Godwin's potential offseason situation in his latest edition of SI's Monday Afternoon Quarterback:

That said, this is probably it for Godwin in Tampa, since he’ll be looking for the kind of life-changing haul every young player does in his second contract. What’ll be interesting is seeing how the Bucs will replace him in 2022—and whether Brady will take the avenue of trying to recruit another friend, Odell Beckham Jr., to the Bucs to go ring chasing with him.

Right now, it's not illogical to follow Breer in this line of thinking. The Bucs have always talked about how special Godwin is and how much he means to the team, but they didn't extend him last year, which was interesting considering how much the team talks him up. Actions speak louder than words and while it's important to not read too much into Godwin's 2021 tag, the decision definitely leaves room to ponder what's next between the two parties. It's also important to remember that this is just Breer's opinion. This isn't sourced, as far as we know.

Godwin can't be blamed if he commands top dollar in 2022. He's earned it. And there's a good chance the Bucs missed out on their opportunity to keep him around for the long haul.

Whether or not that holds true remains to be seen, but one thing's for sure and that's the fact that Godwin is going to get paid in 2022. Regardless of whether he's in Tampa Bay or not.

You can check out Breer’s full article, here.

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