TAMPA, Fla. — Sunday night's last-second Divisional Round loss for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers isn't the way fans wanted to see the reigning Super Bowl champs' season end.
It's not how the team wanted it to go either.
The Bucs suffered a 30-27 loss to the Los Angeles Rams after making a fourth-quarter run to tie the game. But the duo in Matthew Stafford and Cooper Kupp snuffed out Tampa Bay fans' hopes with two rapid receptions that set the Rams up for their game-winning field goal with four seconds on the clock.
Linebacker Devin White said the final throw put the defense under pressure as the Rams were coming off a "hurry-up situation" which led to a lack of time for the defense to process their assignments.
“It was no time to process things and to hurry up and look at the formation and get a line as quickly as we would like," White said. "So, therefore that caused a lot of people to be a little timid when getting lined up because everything was going so fast.”
But for head coach Bruce Arians, the second to last connection between Stafford and Kupp was the biggest play of the game. Looking back, the final 40 seconds of the game is the only thing Arians said he would change — outside of that he has "no regrets."
"The message is the same as it was in the locker room. How proud I am of them. Adversity that we had this year and just watched different guys step in and step up and seize opportunities. I mean it’s – it’s very gratifying as a coach," Arians said.
But while falling short hit home for both the coaches and players, the team is now focused on moving forward.
“Once you start rebuilding the team and the guys, the core guys that are still here, they’re not gonna forget that. That’s for sure. And there’ll be a different sense of urgency I think coming into OTAs and minicamp and as we put the team together," Arians said.
The Bucs are looking at quite a few free agencies on their roster heading into 2022. Big names like Leonard Fournette, Rob Gronkowski, Jason Pierre-Paul, Ryan Jensen, Ndamukong Suh and Jordan Whitehead are among the list.
While the Buccaneers want to bring everyone back, the fact of the matter is, it's highly unlikely to happen. That's why Arians says the team is treating the upcoming season like a reload where they'll assess free agency and the draft and then build the team from there.
“Last year was – to get everybody back was amazing. Doubt we can do it all again this year but we’re still gonna give it our best," Arians said.
The fact that Sunday night could have been the last time some players took the field together was extremely clear in the locker room.
White says he's thankful for the opportunity and privilege to play with the current roster since day in and day out "[they] lay it on the line."
For the free agents that do return, White adds "there's more work to do" because for a team of their caliber "it's Super Bowl or nothing."
Marpet echoed White's sentiments saying that the Bucs were in a similar position last year but managed to keep its roster intact.
“It’s tough every year, you’re going to lose guys to free agency. You know, last year we thought we were gonna lose a lot of guys and we were able to retain. So, who knows what sort of magic we can work moving forward," Marpet said.
But does that future include Tom Brady? That was the big question Monday.
According to Arians, there's no timetable on when the Bucs will know what Brady's decision is and that he's yet to talk to the G.O.A.T about his status.
Questions first started circling Sunday night about Brady's potential retirement even though the quarterback is under contract for 2022.
When asked about his plans for next season Brady said "I haven't put a lot of thought into it," before adding that he is taking the future "day by day."
“Tom’s special and I think that for the guys that, ya know, stick around hopefully we can carry some of that approach or those lessons or those - the way he handles himself moving forward and we can continue to play at a high level," Marpet said when asked about the G.O.A.T
Reporters also pushed Rob Gronkowski about the status of the only quarterback he's ever played for. The tight end was asked if Brady's return impacts his future in the NFL.
“I’m just gonna really basically do, you know, obviously, what’s best for myself in the terms of the football world. So, it’s basically going to be a decision upon, you know, of where I’m at in a couple weeks," Gronkowski said, later adding that Brady's going to do what he needs to do, as well.
Right now, Gronkowski says "emotions are flying high" and he believes you can't make a decision about the future in that type of mindset.
That's why he says he'll be taking the upcoming weeks to take some time off, heal and see where his thoughts are.
Should Brady not return for another shot at a Super Bowl ring, Arians said he's comfortable if the team's next QB is either on their roster or if there's something waiting behind door number two.