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Buccaneers coach Bruce Arians said after the Super Bowl that he was “a lot. very confident ”the team would be able to keep its top agents free and reiterated that confidence when the team celebrated its title at a boat parade last week.
The Aryans had another chance to give an opinion on the matter when he spoke to reporters and his tone was a little different. Arians said he thinks players “know they have something special”, but he touched on the financial realities that often drive decisions for free agents.
He said he thinks players will stay if money is close and that could be a problem for coveted players like wide receiver Chris Godwin. Arians said he was not involved in contracts, but suggested that Bucs would be willing to pay for the start.
“I think he loves it here,” said Arians, through Joey Knight, from Tampa Bay Times. “It is difficult to get out and go to another system just for money. But it’s not a bad thing to pay for two No. 1 receivers, for sure, when they’re as good as our two No. 1 receivers. ”
The Bucs could use the franchise brand at Godwin to ensure he received a big raise while staying in Tampa, but that could complicate efforts to keep others like Shaq Barrett, Lavonte David, Ndamukong Suh and Rob Gronkowski in the group.