INDIANAPOLIS -- Tampa Bay Buccaneers general manager Jason Licht said Tuesday that wide receiver Chris Godwin "means the world" to the organization and that the executive hopes they can reach an agreement on an extension.
"Hopefully, we can come to an agreement with him because Chris means the world to this organization, to all of us individually but as an organization as a whole," Licht said at the NFL combine. "Nobody has been more resilient than him. We've been down this road, a similar path, with him. Nobody has been more resilient and works harder than him. So those are the good things. If I were a betting man, I'd bet on Chris. But the facts are we have to wade through some variables here."
One variable already out of the way was the automatic void date of Feb. 17 on his 2025 contract. The Bucs and Godwin's agent, Tory Dandy, agreed to move the date to March 12 to have more time to negotiate a new deal.
But the main variable is that Godwin is coming off a dislocated left ankle that ended his season after Week 7 and required surgery. Licht said that doesn't change how the team views Godwin, however. Godwin was also an unrestricted free agent in 2022 when he was recovering from a season-ending ACL and MCL tears.
"There's still some uncertainties, but he's progressing," said Licht, who didn't want to commit to a timeline for Godwin's recovery. "He's doing everything he can. ... We're going to use as much time as we have to consider options and consider with regards to him how we construct things or how we do things. That's where we're at right now."
In 2022, the team franchise-tagged Godwin and then used that as a placeholder to strike a three-year deal worth $60 million. Sources told ESPN that the team won't use the tag on him this time, as it would be his third time being tagged and result in a salary 144% of his previous level.
As it stands, the Bucs will have $9,748,010 in salary cap space in 2025, though there are moves the team could make to create more room. For instance, the team is evaluating the contracts of outside cornerback Jamel Dean, who is set to count just over $15 million against the cap in 2025, and safety Jordan Whitehead, who is set to count $4.5 million and whose season ended as he went on injured reserve because of a motor vehicle accident.
The team could also preemptively work out new deals with right tackle Luke Goedeke, tight end Cade Otton and cornerback Zyon McCollum although they are still under contract. Licht said there's "no urgency" on such deals. And the Bucs now have some wiggle room with Godwin in terms of time.
"I can't predict what's going to happen," Licht said. "All I can say is that last year we were in a position with a lot of players. And I kept saying the same thing: 'They want to be here. We want them.' Hopefully we can work something out."