The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are hoping to keep their roster intact after winning their first Super Bowl since the 2002 season. Among the impending free agents on the team, it remains to be seen if the Buccaneers can bring back Rob Gronkowski to catch passes from Tom Brady.
Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians spoke about Gronk's situation, as well as Ndamukong Suh's, and noted these free agents will have to make a key choice:
Bruce Arians on whether the desire to win another ring can trump salary for veteran free agents like Suh and Gronk: "I don't think it'll trump it much. Hopefully we can keep them within the framework of the team. I know they both want to be back." Hopes they're able to return.
— Greg Auman (@gregauman) February 18, 2021
When the Buccaneers acquired Gronkowski in a trade with the New England Patriots before the 2020 season, he had one year remaining on his contract. Tampa Bay made the move anyway, hoping they'd get one good season out of Gronkowski as they contended for a Super Bowl.
The move panned out as Gronkowski caught seven touchdowns and was a remarkable blocker in his first season in Tampa Bay with Brady. Then, in the Super Bowl, Gronkowski continued his trend of dominating in the playoffs with seven catches for 67 yards and two touchdowns to defeat the Kansas City Chiefs.
Even before the Super Bowl victory, Gronkowski shared his interest in returning to the Buccaneers in 2021. The idea of playing with Brady and getting a chance to live in Florida was already enough to lure him out of retirement and continue his NFL career.
Gronkowski, who turns 32 years old in May, would likely need to take a pay cut to remain in Tampa Bay next season. With the salary cap lower than initially expected due to the implications of COVID-19, the Buccaneers are going to have to make some important roster decisions.
Besides Gronkowski, Suh, Shaquil Barrett, Chris Godwin, LaVonte David, and Leonard Fournette are other notable names set to hit free agency. While Bruce Arians hopes to see Gronkowski back in 2021, he understands that things will have to fall into place for that to happen.
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