There are plenty of names on the market that could appeal to the Bucs during the upcoming 2025 NFL free agency. From left guard, inside linebacker, outside linebacker, cornerback, and safety, there are plenty of holes to plug, but Tampa Bay will compete with 31 other teams for players’ services. That’s why when looking at who might don red and pewter next season, fit is everything.

ESPN recently went over the top 50 NFL free agents and has two signing up to make another postseason run.

There Is No Better Fit For Chris Godwin Than The Bucs

Bucs WR Chris Godwin – Photo by: USA Today

While Bucs wide receiver Chris Godwin is a free agent, don’t expect him to leave town.

Other teams will surely compete for his services, but after the start to the season he had last year with quarterback Baker Mayfield and the long-standing relationship he has with wide receiver Mike Evans, the best move for him is to stick around.

Godwin ranks as the fifth-best free agent on the market.

Staying in Tampa Bay and continuing to work alongside Mike Evans would be the right move for Godwin. Before suffering a season-ending left ankle injury in Week 7, Godwin’s 50 receptions over the first seven games were the most in the NFL. He’s a savvy and proven route runner with the toughness to work the heavy-traffic areas of the field for quarterback Baker Mayfield.

As mentioned above, Godwin was one of the best wide receivers in the league before suffering his season-ending injury. It will be the second time he hits the market at the wrong time to cash in, as he became a free agent in 2022 after tearing his ACL late during the 2021 season. Still, that did not deter the Bucs’ front office from rewarding him with a three-year, $60 million deal which he more than lived up to.

Godwin will not be given the franchise tag again as he received before his contract extension back then, but with the team working with him to extend the date his current contract voids to the last day of the 2024 league year, they are attempting to work out a new deal in short order to take care of him.

Rasul Douglas Would Be The Ideal Addition To Bucs’ CB Room

Bills CB Rasul Douglas and Chiefs WR Xavier Worthy – Photo by: USA Today

It is not a name that has been linked to the Bucs much. Even in our PR Roundtable this week, he was not a name that any of us mentioned. Still, there are dots to connect when looking at veteran cornerback Rasul Douglas.

Douglas, who spent last season with the Bills, ranks as the 24th-best free agent and would fit in head coach Todd Bowles’ zone-heavy defense.

Signing a cornerback should be an offseason priority for a Bucs defense that allowed 243.9 passing yards per game last season, the 29th most in the league. Douglas is a physical corner with the length to reroute underneath in zone and attack the ball from the outside third of the field. As such, Douglas fits well in Todd Bowles’ system — Tampa Bay played zone coverage on 71.7% of opponent dropbacks in 2024.

While Douglas is not the biggest fish to catch at the cornerback position, he remains a productive cornerback with an eye for the football. The 6-foot-2, 209-pound cornerback is an intriguing buy-low candidate, as he is coming off a down year where he did not record an interception. One does not have to go back too far to see a track record of success, though.

Former Packers CB Rasul Douglas – Photo by: USA Today

After starting his career on a high note by winning a Super Bowl with the Eagles in 2017, Philadelphia waived Douglas before the start of the 2020 season. He spent that year in Carolina after being claimed by the Panthers. He would have brief stints with the Raiders, Texans, and Cardinals in 2021 before the Packers signed him off Arizona’s practice squad.

Appearing in 12 games (nine starts), Douglas recorded 57 total tackles, 13 passes defended, and five interceptions, with two being pick-sixes. In 2022, he re-signed with Green Bay and set a career-high with 85 total tackles and four interceptions. They decided to ship him off to Buffalo at the trade deadline in 2023, and down the stretch, he had four interceptions and a pick-six in just eight games for them.

Douglas would be an intriguing fit in Tampa Bay as he has a recent record of high-end ball-hawking production. Still only 29 years old, he would bring a veteran presence to a cornerback room that could desperately need it should they move on from Jamel Dean.

With the Bucs able to save over $8 million by letting Dean walk, Douglas would not cost much more in free agency. Pewter Report’s Josh Queipo predicts landing a two-year, $22 million deal, which would not be a bad investment for general manager Jason Licht to make to shore up one of the defense’s most glaring needs.