Buccaneers
The Buccaneers re-signed WR Chris Godwin to a three-year, $66 million extension this week. The veteran receiver mentioned he was “really close” to leaving Tampa Bay.
“I mean, to be honest, I feel like we were really close (to leaving),” Godwin said, via NFL.com. “When it comes to a situation like that, you have to really, really consider it. Me and (his wife) Mariah, we had some really tough conversations. Had some really tough conversations with my agent. Because at the end of the day, you’re trying to figure out what’s going to be best for our family. Not everybody would make that decision, and I’m not faulting anybody that would.”
In the end, Godwin felt returning to the Buccaneers was the best choice.
“But at the end of the day, like I was mentioning in the presser, I have to go based off my gut, I have to go based off my intuition and what I think is going to be best for us in the long run. Being here, where we call home, where we feel the most comfortable, where we can raise our newborn son, I think all those things are big factors for us in making this decision.”
Panthers
The Panthers re-signed CB Mike Jackson to a two-year deal this offseason. Jackson said he knew he wanted to come back to Carolina at the end of last season.
“I kind of knew just at the end of the season,” Jackson said, via the team’s site. “Everything kind of worked out. I wanted to come back. Just over the season, how they treated me, and just how we played. I felt like, towards the end of the season, we kind of put something together. So it seemed right.”
Jackson called last year “the foundation” of building alongside CB Jaycee Horn and is excited for a full offseason of training.
“Last year was just the foundation,” Jackson said. “Like now we get a whole offseason to be around each other every single day and really like push each other. So it’s kind of like you get to really take it to a whole other level. Last year, we played good, but it was like I was trying to learn the playbooks and all that. Now we’re past all that.”
Jackson looks forward to improving the chemistry and technique of playing opposite of Horn.
“It’s more like technique, so we really can pick each other apart, pick each other’s game because for a whole year, I sat back and watched him, and for a whole year, he sat back and watched me. And now we know the best ways we can help each other get it done. I feel like we’ve got a lot of plays to be made.”
Saints
Saints GM Mickey Loomis has established a reputation for how he approaches the salary cap, often pushing back money to future years through restructuring contracts. He plans on continuing that approach given that the team’s players and fanbase expect them to be competitive each season.
“Every team is either in that cap management mode, or they’re going to be. That’s just the nature of our sport and the way the cap works,” Loomis said, via Katherine Terrell of ESPN. “That’s going to be our approach every year… We’re going to try to win every game we can win. It’s what our players expect, it’s what our fans expect, and what our coaches expect. It’s what I expect.”
Loomis said they will add a “few pieces” through free agency, but it depends on the player and cost.
“I think we’ll be able to add a few pieces. It just depends upon the who and the where and the cost, right? I expect us to be active,” Loomis said.
Loomis points out how players can fly under the radar on the open market, similar to LB Demario Davis, and how former Saints LB Zack Baun landed with the Eagles.
“You sign these guys at lower-level salaries, and you never know how that’s going to impact your team. Look at Zack Baun and how that turned out for Philadelphia. Sore subject with me,” Loomis said. “That was a fantastic signing. It wasn’t on anyone’s radar. … Way back when we signed [linebacker] Demario [Davis], that wasn’t on anyone’s radar, and that’s been one of the best signings we’ve ever had.”
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