Were Chargers going after free agency's top WR for Justin Herbert?

The Los Angeles Chargers avoided the hoped-for big splash in NFL free agency at wide receiver, instead opting to go the familiar route with Mike Williams.

But could the Chargers have been in the running for one of the biggest names and missed?

It’s a question worth asking, particularly about Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Chris Gowin. Widespread reports since Godwin re-upped with the Bucs have said that the veteran receiver turned down bigger offers to return to his preferred team rather than leave.

According to PFT’s Michael David Smith, Buccaneers general manager Jason Licht went as far as saying teams were writing “blank checks” for Godwin.

“There were several teams that inquired but there was one that kept writing him blank checks,” Licht said. “We got to a point of what we could do in order to keep everything together and add some pieces here, and he took it.”

The popular consensus seems to be that said team was the New England Patriots, which would make sense—of the NFL’s biggest rebuild projects had plenty of cap space and a need to help along a possible franchsie quarterback.

But the Chargers certainly come to mind when thinking about some of those details, too. Chargers general manager Joe Hortiz and the front office hit free agency with roughly $90 million to play with and a dramatic need to surround Justin Herbert with better weapons.

Godwin, even coming off an injury-shortened season, would’ve been an incredible way to do it. He’s still just 29 years old and averages 12.5 yards per catch for his career. Before appearing in just seven games last season, he had a string of four 1,000-plus-yard seasons in five attempts. His fit on the field with Ladd McConkey would have been fantastic, too.

Alas, Godwin officially re-signed with the Bucs on March 10. Amid the chaos of free agency, the Chargers re-signed Williams on March 12.

Maybe the Chargers weren’t out there writing (obviously exaggerated) “blank checks,” but one has to wonder if they were sniffing around players like Godwin.