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What to do with Godwin?
I haven't heard many people touch on this subject, but it may be the 2nd biggest decision after we make the choice on Winston.
Godwin was incredible last year, and has been since day one. There is no doubt he deserves to be paid. Big time. Problem is, he is on the last year of his rookie deal, and making less than a million in 2020.
Arians went on record immediately after the end of the season, stating that resigning Godwin this spring is a top priority. Keep in mind that he made the same comment about Adam Humprhies, even though the scuttlebutt ended up being that Bruce didn't see Hump as a slot WR in his offense, likely due to his athletic limitations. So we can't take Arians for gospel here, although there is a major difference between Hump and Godwin.
In an off-season in which we have a handful of franchise altering decisions to make, Godwin's situation only adds to the unenviable task the Bucs brass has to take on over the next few months.
I see this going down in one of 3 ways.
A) We try to make Godwin honor the 4th year of his contract.
Obviously this would be ideal for the front office, as it would help to retain and add talent in free agency. The problem is, Godwin could easily choose to sit out in 2020 and I have no doubt that he would still get a big time pay day the following year. Maybe not quite as much as he would get adding another solid year under his belt, but if he were to suffer a major injury he would essentially never get the pay day he deserves. I don't think Chris is the type that would sit out, but a good agent would try like hell to convince him to do so.
B) We resign Godwin
This option ensures more of #12 in Tampa for years to come. Chris and his agent will be happy. The fans will be happy. But the Bucs will undoubtedly lose guys like JPP and Suh to make this happen. And forget about resigning Perriman in this scenario, unless we trade Mike Evans. No way the Bucs commit roughly 20% of the cap to 3 wideouts, regardless of the talent.
C) We trade Godwin for a 1st round pick
Certainly this would not be well received by all of the bay area. Godwin is a fan favorite and one of the best players on the team. However, as mentioned previously, some difficult and polarizing decisions will be made this off-season. In this scenario, I imagine Perriman is resigned to pair with Evans. We would likely look to the draft for a slot weapon, as WR is deep this year. Doing this would allow the flexibility of retaining/acquiring the free agents we want in 2020, while also giving us an extra 1st round pick. But keep in mind that losing a player like Godwin is not a decision that can be made easily.
What I would do:
While this may be a bit out of the box, I am going to go with option C. Hear me out.
I mainly say this because I do not think Winston will return, and I'm not sold on any of the free agent options available, when most of them will still require 20-30 million. This means we will likely need to move up in the draft to get a QB, and Godwin should carry enough value to make that move (as opposed to bartering with out future in 1st round picks).
In my scenario, with the Bucs needing a QB on draft night, Godwin is packaged with #14 overall to move up to #4 with the Giants to take Justin Herbert. Godwin is reunited with former Penn State teammate Saquon Barkley, taking the place of Odell Beckham Jr as a stud #1 WR in the Big Apple.
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2020 OFF-SEASON MOCK
Resign:
JPP, Shaq, Perriman, Nassib, Gabbert, Auclair, Beau Allen, Demar Dotson(Swing OT), Kevin Minter, etc...
Sign:
FS Anthony Harris, RB Melvin Gordon, DT Justin Ellis (Backup - Beau Allen type)
Draft:
1- QB Justin Herbert ORE
2- WR Justin Jefferson LSU
Jefferson reminds me a lot of Godwin actually, tough kid, good at the contested catches. Maybe not quite as good as #12, but he and Evans outside with Perriman in the slot sounds like a nice contingency plan. Jefferson is also great after the catch and I'm sure he and Perriman would swap between outside and slot, based on matchup.
2- DL Neville Gallimore OKLA (trade OJ Howard for a late 2nd. Maybe to New England) Replaces Suh on the DL. Gallimore honestly reminds me a lot of Gerald McCoy as a player, which is not a bad thing considering he won't be a 3rd overall pick. Fun Fact: they both played at Oklahoma. Gallimore should beat out a veteran signing like Justin Ellis to start the season and keep the run defense a strength.
3- OT Marcus Norman USF *great play this year, lot of buzz brewing about his potential and athleticism, will get more lip service over the next couple months. Should be able to beat out Demar Dotson right away. Plus he is right here in our own back yard. Wouldbe a shame to make the same mistake we did with RB Marlon Mack.
4- OT Robert Hunt LOU-LAF *small school punisher, right up Licht's alley (Marpet, Cappa, etc.) Wouldn't be a bad choice to double up at OT. Neither Hunt, not Norman are top 15 picks, so there is a higher level of bust potential. Drafting 2 gives a better chance at finding at least a solid replacement at RT. Plus, depth is a highly important thing for linemen.
Depth Chart:
QB Justin Herbert, Blaine Gabbert
RB Melvin Gordon, Ronald Jones, Dare Ogunbawale, UDFA
TE Antony Auclair, (FA/UDFA Run Blocker), Tanner Hudson
WR Mike Evans, Justin Jefferson, Breshad Perriman, Scotty Miller, Watson/UDFA
OT Donovan Smith, Marcus Norman, Demar Dotson, Robert Hunt
IOL Ali Marpet, Ryan Jensen, Alex Cappa, Low Level Free Agent/UDFA
DL Vita Vea, Will Gholston, Neville Gallimore, Beau Allen, Justin Ellis
OLB Shaq Barrett, JPP, Carl Nassib, Anthony Nelson, Late Draftee/UDFA
ILB Lavonte David, Devin White, Kevin Minter, Jack Cichy(?)
CB CD3, Jamel Dean, SMB, Ryan Smith, MJ Stewart(hoping an UDFA can secure this backup role)
S Anthony Harris, Jordan Whitehead, Justin Evans, Andrew Adams
P Bradley Pinion (could see him getting cut based on pay vs value, not sure if $ is guaranteed)
K Rodrigo Blankenship (6th/7th round pick out of Georgia should beat Matt Gay for the job. Gay can't hack it)
KR Justin Jefferson
