Bruce Arians says Tampa Bay Buccaneers will be 'reloading,' not rebuilding this offseason

TAMPA, Fla. — Buccaneers coach Bruce Arians said Monday that he doesn't see the Bucs rebuilding but instead «reloading» after their quest to «go for two» after their Super Bowl LV victory came up short Sunday in a 30-27 NFC divisional-round loss to the Los Angeles Rams.

He said the priority, like last year, will be to re-sign their own in free agency but acknowledged that re-signing all 22 starters on offense and defense again, something that hadn't been done since the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1979, will be difficult.

«Our [priority] in free agency will be our guys — see how many that we can get back and then build a team from there,» Arians said Monday. «I always look forward to that part of it, and then the draft. Each year is so different and so new. Last year, to get everybody back was amazing. I doubt we can do it all again this year, but we're sure going to give it our best.»

The Bucs now have 23 players on their 53-man roster set to become unrestricted free agents, including wide receiver Chris Godwin, who played under the franchise tag this season, tight end Rob Gronkowski, running backs Leonard Fournette, Ronald Jones and Giovani Bernard, outside linebacker Jason Pierre-Paul, center Ryan Jensen, defensive linemen Ndamukong Suh and William Gholston, cornerback Carlton Davis, safety Jordan Whitehead and right guard Alex Cappa. Twelve of those players are over the age of 30.

According to ESPN's Roster Management System, the Bucs currently have $10,314,077 in salary-cap space in 2022, which is 22nd in the league. But last year, they had just $13 million entering free agency and were able to retain every starter on offense and defense from their Super Bowl-winning team.

Gronkowski, who came out of retirement two years