Jaguars could pursue Chris Godwin in free agency despite knee injury

For teams in need of wide receiver help in free agency, there will be a bevy of options to choose from and the Jacksonville Jaguars could choose pretty much any of them due to the vast amount of cap space they will have at their disposal this offseason. Allen Robinson and Mike Williams should be at the top of the Jags’ list but if they think Chris Godwin can return to pre-injury form, he could also be on their radar.

Tyler Sullivan of CBS Sports recently projected contracts and logical landing spots for several wide receivers in this year’s free-agency period and to no one’s surprise, the Jags were seen as a potential destination to some of them, including Godwin. Sullivan believes Godwin will be highly sought after even though he tore his ACL and sprained his MCL in Week 15 of the 2021 season due to his age and production as a member of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

"Outside of Adams, Godwin should be expected to be a highly sought-after piece on the open market who can enhance whatever offense he lands in. The Super Bowl LV champion can line up as an outside receiver, work over the middle of the field, and operate in the slot to an elite degree. Even before he went down with this knee injury, Godwin already had 98 catches for 1,103 receiving yards and five touchdowns in 14 games played."

A third-round selection by Tampa Bay in the 2017 draft, Godwin has appeared in 72 games with 47 starts and caught 342 receptions for 4,643 receiving yards with 29 touchdowns. After applying the franchise tag on him last offseason, the Bucs believe they can reach a long-term deal with him, per Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times, so there’s a chance he may not hit the free-agent market.

A healthy Chris Godwin can bolster the Jaguars’ wide receiver corps.

The downside of signing Chris Godwin is that he may not be ready for the beginning of the 2022 season, something the Jaguars and any other team that’s interested in him should keep in mind. Spotrac projects him to sign a five-year $90.9 million contract ($18.1 million average per year) this offseason. That’s a big commitment and Jacksonville would need to feel comfortable knowing he won’t be able to contribute right off the bat.

On the other hand, Godwin won’t be the only option the Jags will have at wide receiver. Allen Robinson and Mike Williams are currently healthy and they could sign any of them knowing they will be available from Day 1. Trevor Lawrence is entering an important stage of his NFL career and it would be optimal for him to have the chance to work out and develop a rapport with his receivers this offseason. If the Jaguars aren’t thrilled with the free-agent market, they could always inquire about Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Amari Cooper, another player that has been linked to them.

In a sport where availability is the best ability, the Jaguars should consider targeting a wide receiver that can come in and contribute right away but laying eyes on Godwin wouldn’t be necessarily a bad thing. If he can do for the Jaguars what he did for the Bucs, they won’t care if he misses a few games at the start of the season.