There are 22 players from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' 2024 roster and reserve lists who could become unrestricted free agents on March 12. That's four more than were on the Buccaneers' same list a year ago, though the overall task of dealing with it seems a little less daunting in 2025. A year ago, the team hoped to retain Baker Mayfield, Mike Evans, Lavonte David, Antoine Winfield Jr. and Chase McLaughlin but faced the constraints of a tight salary cap situation. Jason Licht and his crew managed to get everything accomplished on that wish list while also striking a long-term extension with Pro Bowl tackle Tristan Wirfs.
It's almost certain that some of the 22 players on this year's list will move on to new NFL homes this spring. The Buccaneers may not choose to pursue new contracts with some of them. However, Licht has long prioritized keeping as much of the team's existing talent as possible.
In fact, the Buccaneers have already done that twice with wide receiver Chris Godwin, the second-leading pass-catcher in franchise history behind only teammate Mike Evans. In 2021, Tampa Bay placed the franchise tag on Godwin, which he signed nine days later to convert it into his one-year contract for that season. The Buccaneers used the tag on the then-seventh-year wideout again in 2022, but this time the two sides quickly came to agreement on a new three-year contract.
Now those three years are up and Godwin is in a familiar position. Near the end of the 2021 season, he sustained a torn ACL and sprained MCL in a game against New Orleans, requiring surgery followed by a long rehab process. As noted, the Buccaneers were not deterred from giving him a sizeable new contract a few months later. This time, Godwin is working his way back from a dislocated ankle sustained in late October.
Not that there has ever been any question about Godwin's determination and work ethic – quite the opposite, actually – but the dogged manner in which he pursued his recovery last time and the three fine seasons he has turned in since should allay any fears of his latest injury being an issue. In addition, the timetable for his return from the ankle injury started two months earlier than in 2021 and is not expected to be as long as a comeback from an ACL tear.
In the weeks leading up to the start of the new league year and free agency, we are going to look at 10 players who are currently poised to become unrestricted free agents in mid-March. This is the full schedule of our 2025 Free Agent Focus rundown:
February 12: WR Chris Godwin
February 14: QB Kyle Trask
February 19: OLB Anthony Nelson
February 26: C Robert Hainsey
February 28: WR Sterling Shepard
March 3: OLB Shaquil Barrett
March 4: LB Lavonte David
March 5: G Ben Bredeson
March 6: OLB Joe Tryon-Shoyinka
March 7: LB Lavonte David
This list is subject to change based on potential roster moves in the coming weeks. However, we will begin with a player who could make a huge difference to the Bucs' offense if he returns in 2025.
Player: Chris Godwin
Position: Wide Receiver
Age at the Start of the 2024 Season: 29
Experience: Entering ninth NFL season
How Acquired: Selected in the third round (84th overall) of the 2017 NFL Draft out of Penn State.
Previous Contract(s): Godwin originally got the standard four-year deal signed by all players drafted in the second through seventh rounds. He completed that contract in the 2020 season and then received the Buccaneers' franchise tag in March of 2021. Godwin signed the tag to convert it into his contract for the 2021 campaign, then received the franchise tag again in March of 2022. Roughly a week later, the Buccaneers and Godwin agreed to a new three-year deal that ran through 2024. Because there were three automatically voiding years at the end of that contract (2025-27), Godwin would still have a hit on the Bucs' 2025 salary cap if he were to depart this offseason.
Rank in Pro Football Focus **Top 100 NFL Free Agents** for 2025: 4th. PFF comment: "Godwin has consistently displayed reliable hands, dropping fewer than 6% of catchable passes in seven of his eight NFL seasons. He maintained that standard in 2024, earning an 85.7 PFF receiving grade through nearly seven weeks without a single drop on 52 catchable targets. However, Godwin sustained a season-ending left ankle dislocation. He is no stranger to entering free agency with an injury, and hopefully, the recovery will be even quicker this time around."
2024 Performance: Godwin was potentially on his way to his best NFL season yet this past fall before his ankle injury near the end of a Week Seven loss to Baltimore. He was leading the NFL with 50 receptions at the time, resulting in 576 yards and five touchdowns. His averages of 7.1 receptions and 82.3 receiving yards per game extrapolate to a 121-catch, 1,399-yard season, both of which would have been new career highs.
As some had anticipated after the arrival of new Offensive Coordinator Liam Coen, who had roots with Sean McVay's Rams, Godwin was thriving in the "Cooper Kupp" role before his bit of bad luck. He was easily the biggest yards-after-catch threat in an offense that was relying on YAC quite a bit. After being used more as an outside receiver by 2023 Offensive Coordinator Dave Canales, Godwin went back to taking more than half of his snaps out of the slot under Coen. At the time of his injury, he had an NFL-high 365 yards of YAC, which comprised 63.4% of his overall yardage.
Coen and the Buccaneers also made a point of targeting Godwin quite a bit more in the red zone. His five touchdowns in seven games were as many as he had in 32 games during the 2022-23 seasons combined. And, as he has done throughout his career, Godwin willingly contributed robust blocking in the Buccaneers' much-improved ground game.
Career Accomplishments: In his eight NFL seasons, Godwin has played in 111 games with 84 starts and has amassed 579 catches for 7,266 yards (12.5 average) and 39 touchdowns. He ranks second in Buccaneers franchise history behind Evans in all three of those categories.
Godwin actually ranks one spot ahead of Evans and in first place in team annals with his average of 5.2 receptions per game among qualified pass-catchers. Evans' average is 5.0 receptions per game. Godwin has a career total of 3,176 yards after the catch, also the most in franchise history ahead of former running back Warrick Dunn (2,577) and Evans (2,527).
Godwin went to the Pro Bowl after the 2019 season, in which played in 15 games and delivered career highs in yards (1,333), touchdowns (nine) and ranked second in the NFL with 95.2 yards per game. In 2022 he became just the second player in team annals to reach the 100-catch mark in the season, with his 100 grabs falling just shy of Keyshawn Johnson's 106 in 2001.
Other Potential Free Agent Wide Receivers: Tee Higgins (Bengals), Stefon Diggs (Texans), DeAndre Hopkins (Chiefs), Marquise Brown (Chiefs), Darius Slayton (Giants), Keenan Allen (Bears), Diontae Johnson (Ravens), Mike Williams (Steelers), Amari Cooper (Bills), Brandin Cooks (Cowboys), Mack Hollins (Bills), Tyler Boyd (Titans)
Top Wide Receiver Prospects in 2025 NFL Draft: Travis Hunter (Colorado), Tetairoa McMillan (Arizona), Luther Burden (Missouri), Emeka Egbuka (Ohio State), Savion Williams (TCU), Matthew Golden (Texas), Isaiah Bond (Texas), Antwane Wells (Mississippi), Tre Harris (Mississippi), Kaden Prather (Maryland), Arian Smith (Georgia), Bru McCoy (Tennessee), Squirrel White (Tennessee), KeAndre Lambert-Smith (Auburn), Da'Quan Felton (Virginia Tech)
