Bruce Arians: Returning players must earn starting spots

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers won the Super Bowl last month, but head coach Bruce Arians made it clear that he is not going to let anyone on the team rest on his laurels. He told reporters that all returning starters are going to have to earn that role again for the 2021 season or risk riding the bench for the team's attempted repeat.

"There are no starters," Arians told reporters. "This is a new football team. I made that message clear when they left, that that team won the Super Bowl. This team hasn't done s--t. All those things will be defined in practice."

Now, of course, this probably isn't entirely true. It's highly unlikely the likes of Tom Brady or Mike Evans are in any danger of losing their starting jobs to backups. However, Arians managed to get his overall point across effectively: The only way the Bucs are going to have a shot at winning again is if they approach the upcoming season with the same intensity they approached last season.

With most of last season's starters returning, the Bucs should be among the favorites for next year's Super Bowl. However, they now have a target on their backs, and teams are going to make sure to give them their best shot.