Getty Bruce Arians continues to push the Bucs.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians threw gas on rumors about the potential breakup of his roster after the Bucs’ 30-27 loss to the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC divisional playoffs. Arians declined to speculate on quarterback Tom Brady’s future but was blunt about the current roster: “This team’s over.”
“These guys are fighters,” Arians said January 23 during his postgame press conference. “They’ve shown it all year. I mean, 14-5 – whatever we are – but this team’s over … This team will not be back together. They never are and [I told the players to] make sure you say thank you to your teammates, and we’ll try to regroup this thing and come in next year.”
When asked to clarify his comments, Arians said the upcoming offseason would be no different from any other, in terms of the typical change that happens on any NFL team.
“No, finality is finality. There’s change every year,” Arians said. “I mean, it’s no different than any other year.”
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Key Buccaneers Free Agents Include Gronk, Godwin, Fournette, Suh & Davis
The Buccaneers have 26 free agents heading into the offseason, including several starters on both offense and defense. Some of Brady’s favorite weapons are set to hit the free agent market, including wide receiver Chris Godwin, running backs Leonard Fournette and Ronald Jones II and tight end Rob Gronkowski. The defensive starters who are heading to free agency include defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh, defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul, cornerback Carlton Davis and safety Jordan Whitehead.
The Buccaneers made history last offseason by being the first Super Bowl team since the 1979 Pittsburgh Steelers to return all 22 of its starters. The team was creative using void years on deals to make room under the salary cap.
As for Brady’s future, ESPN’s Adam Schefter said on January 24 on “The Greg Hill Show” that when Brady “says, ‘I haven’t thought about it and there will be time to think about it,’ of course he’s thought about it.” And NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport tweeted on January 24 that Brady retirement talk “is as real as it’s been.” Brady would be 45 years old at the start of the 2022 season. He passed for 5,316 yards and 43 touchdowns this season.
David on Future of Bucs: ‘This Locker Room Is Not Going to Be the Same Next Year’
Linebacker Lavonte David echoed Arians while speaking with reporters after the loss to the Rams. During his postgame press conference, David said, “Some people are going to have to move on to certain places.”
On the possibility of not playing with some of his current teammates: “Oh, so tough, man, very tough. A lot of these guys are in the last year of their contracts. I was the last one to walk [into the locker room], so I just seen a look in everybody’s eyes like, this is a tough one. You hate to go out in such a manner, but at the end of the day, man, this locker room is not going to be the same next year. So, you build a relationship with guys and to see them go out the way we did and then we’re going to have to move on. Some people are going to have to move on to certain places.
“It’s going to be tough, because this is like the most tight locker room I’ve ever been around. The most great chemistry with guys on and off the field. It’s just great leadership. What I’m saying, like with the young guys and the older guys just gelling together. Everybody just hung around each other, and it was like a real-life family atmosphere. And luckily, you do build bonds with those guys to wish them well on their future endeavors, but it’s going to be different. We all know it’s going to be different next year.”
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Bruce Arians Sends Cryptic Message on Buccaneers: ‘This Team’s Over’