TAMPA, Florida – With metallic confetti still falling inside Raymond James Stadium – the location of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 31-9 victory at the Super Bowl LV over the Kansas City Chiefs and the first NFL Super Bowl won at home – the conversation immediately changed for what it will take to win another one.
Quarterback Tom Brady cleared any doubts about his possible retirement after a seventh Super Bowl victory, saying to Jim Nantz of CBS during the Lombardi Trophy celebration on Sunday night: “We’re coming back. You already know that!”
Coach Bruce Arians, who waited until he was 60 to finally get his first NFL coach job and at 68 to finally get to his first Super Bowl as a coach, said, “Hell, no, I’m not going anywhere. I’m coming back. , trying to get two. And then we’ll see after that. But, no, this football team – I love these guys. We have a great team, a great team. [general manager] Jason [Licht] and I can get together to keep most of them and try to repeat it. “
All three players who scored touchdowns – tight end Rob Gronkowski, wide receiver Antonio Brown and running back Leonard Fournette – were players that Brady personally recruited and were on one-year contracts. They all expressed a desire to return.
Gronkowski, who Brady took from a one-year retirement period and had two touchdown passes on Sunday, has felt rejuvenated since giving his body a rest, being in a warm climate and being so close to his mother, Diane Walters, who lives nearby Fort Myers.
“Yes, I will not retire,” said Gronkowski. “I definitely see myself coming back. Just the guys around here, the players around here, the coaches, the people on the board, they are all great people and I love working with them all year round. I’m obviously going to absorb this and see where I am. in a few weeks, but I don’t see why not. I don’t see why I won’t be back. “
Many believed that Brown was on his last chance to play in the NFL after spending a year out of football and after a battery-theft robbery of assaulting a delivery driver and facing a civil sexual assault case. He called Brady an “older brother” and credits him for helping to change his perspective.
“I would love to be back here next year. It would mean everything to be back,” said Brown. “I am very excited … very grateful. I am ready to go … This is a great place for me, and I would love to go back and try a peat again.”
“You have to give Jason Licht a lot of credit for this football team,” said Arians. “He put together a big list, choosing those guys and still keeping the cap. We have a very limited time to get into the free agency and we will try to keep our guys, that’s for sure.”
In defense, linebacker Shaquil Barrett, who played under the franchise brand this year, expressed a strong desire to return. He is one of several important free agents in defense, along with internal linebacker Lavonte David and striker Ndamukong Suh.
“Well, I know there is nowhere I would rather be,” said Barrett. “I’m pretty sure my agent will talk to them, they’ll talk and we’ll find a quick fix for that. Because I know, like, I found a house here. They gave me a chance. I got a starting place here. They they gave me the freedom to play the way I wanted to, and it has worked. It has been a perfect match from day one. The fans showed love from day one, as everyone showed everyone love from day one, as I have I proved it when I got here, man. I love it here. I just want to keep proving that they are right. “