HEAD COACH BRUCE ARIANS

Opening Statement:

"Quickly about practice today – not practicing: Shaq Barrett, Ronald Jones, Jason Pierre-Paul, Rashard Robinson and Justin Watson. Obviously, we let Antonio [Brown] go today. Just to clear you up on some things that happened – at no point in time during that game did he ever ask the trainer or a doctor about his ankle. That's the normal protocol – you go through protocols during games. I was never notified of it. So, obviously, that was the disturbing thing when we were looking for him to go back into the game. He was very upset at halftime about who was getting targeted. We got that calmed down, the players took care of that. It started again on the sideline. We called for the personnel group that he had played in the entire game, and he refused to go into the game. That's when I looked back and saw him basically wave off the coach. I then went back and approached him about what was going on. 'I ain't playing.' 'What's going on?' 'I ain't getting the ball.' That's when I said, 'You're done. Get the 'eff' out of here.' That's the end of it. We are working on Carolina. That's the end of the story, and hopefully it ends today."

(On WR Antonio Brown accusing him of making a throat-slashing gesture toward him)

"I don't know – is that a throat slash (pointing toward the locker room)?"

(On clarifying that he would not force a player to play if the player said he was injured)

"You can't force a player to play. I mean they have that choice. It's their body. He (Antonio Brown) decided to play. He and Mike [Evans] both were on pitch counts. We were trying to manage as best we could in the first half."

(On the text messages Brown posted on his social media regarding his conversations with Arians about his ankle)

"You saw the texts. It was out there. It was, 'If you can go on Saturday, I want you with the team in case you can go.' He participated in the Saturday walk-through like he was going, so there was never another question about it."

(On if Brown had been doing his rehab the week leading into the Jets game with someone outside the Buccaneers facility)

"I wasn't in last week, but that would be normal."

(On how hurt he is by what happened after the support that he and the organization put behind Brown)

"Yeah, I'm hurt, but I just still wish the best for him. Just get the help you need."

(On not making the official transaction of waiving Brown until Thursday)

"It was just [working] with the league on what you can do, what you can't do. That's all the lawyers and the league office [working] with Jason [Licht], so I don't have any part in that."

(On the status of the team)

"Our team is great. Our team knows the truth. They know what happened. Our guys are fine. They are ready to play Carolina."

(On if the messages Brown posted on social media were unaltered and from him)

"You're talking about the ones with the little heart on them? Yeah, that was me."

(On if things changed with Brown's demeanor after he returned from his suspension)

"No, I never got that feeling. I saw him here in the building and told him he was not going to be released [and] that we were going to stand by him. Everything was good. Everything was great until the third quarter."

(On reiterating that Brown did not need to be calmed down at halftime about the number of targets he was getting)

"The players know the truth. You just heard what I said."

(On if Brown came at him on the sideline and had to be restrained)

"No. People back there in those box seats videoed it like, 'What's going on?' 'Get out of here.'"

(On if anyone went to the locker room after Brown left the field to talk with him)

"I don't know who would have been in the locker room to do that. The guys on the sideline all tried. They tried the whole halftime and third quarter."

(On if he was surprised by what happened on Sunday)

"Yeah, I was with the way that it was going."

(On if he had any reason during the week to believe that Brown was upset with anything)

"Never. Nothing. Like I said, he was great the whole first half."

(On if he feels that Brown not getting his incentives guaranteed may have ticked him off)

"They never were [guaranteed], so I don't know why."

(On being supportive of players meeting their incentives in previous seasons)

"Ask them every year."

DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR TODD BOWLES

(On how OLB Anthony Nelson, OLB Joe Tryon-Shoyinka and OLB Cam Gill played against the Jets on Sunday)

"I thought they did a good job. Obviously, it's a difference when you don't have the starters in there, but Nelson played a heck of a ball game and Joe did a lot of good things for us and I really like what Cam did. It's only going to help us in the future."

(On what it says about those guys to prove that they were ready when their number was called)

"It says a lot about their preparation and how Coach [Bruce] Arians always details the next man up and nobody blinked. It says a lot about the preparation."

(On the way DL Ndamukong Suh plays at the age of 35)

"He takes care of his body very well. He's an ultimate professional. He runs on his days off. He eats right. He's well prepared and I think he's figured the game out from a longevity standpoint as far as taking care of his body. He's done a good job."

(On the league allowing other teams to interview assistants for head coaching positions in the final two weeks of the season)

"I don't think it means much to me. We're trying to win a Super Bowl. If I can win a Super Bowl every year and miss out on a job, then that's fine with me."

(On what he's seen in terms of growth from S Antoine Winfield Jr. this season)

"I think the mental aspect of his game, understanding what we do and understanding what people are trying to do to him as far as understanding when he can make plays. I think he's figured that part out. Last year, he was playing off of pure athleticism. This year, I think he's playing more with his brain."

(On dealing with more injuries this season compared to last season)

"No, we don't use that as an excuse. I think the whole league is going through it. The resiliency of what these guys have been through, the guys that have stepped up and everybody trusting in those guys has built a lot of camaraderie throughout the team. Everybody's contributing right now which is even more than half the team contributing. You just have to keep working at it and keep going and try to survive the injuries with the guys you have playing. We've done a good job at that until they get back."

(On LB Devin White's performance against the Jets)

"The coaches and the defense period didn't have a defensive game. It wasn't just Devin. We didn't coach it well. We didn't play it well. His spirits are always up, and he'll bounce back from it. We have corrections to make, and we'll make it in the meetings and on the field."

(On if White needs LB Lavonte David to complement his playing style)

"No, he's a good football player in his own right. Lavonte is a good football player. They don't need each other. They play well together, but he's played great without him."

(On the attention S Jordan Whitehead is receiving)

"Jordan is tough. He does a lot of stuff for us – a lot of dirty work things. The attention that he gets is well garnered. He's a good football player. He's a heck of a pro. He's going to do his job and I don't think he sees it that way. We see it every day in practice, so everybody else is just getting caught up

(On the importance of Whitehead's role to the defense)

"He's extremely important. He's a vital piece of everything we do, especially upfront as well as the run and the pass. He can be an extra linebacker and an extra DB for us, so he has a lot of jobs."

OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR BYRON LEFTWICH

(On the team releasing WR Antonio Brown)

"I really leave that up to 'BA' (Bruce Arians). I let BA talk about it. I let that be a head coach thing and let him handle it."

(On how the team handles distractions)

"We have to play. We have to play. We have to be ready. That's all we can do. No matter what happens week-in and week-out, as a team we have to be ready to play. That's what we're doing."

(On being shorthanded at wide receiver and running back)

"We've been scrambling since Week 4 – that's what people don't realize. We haven't been a full deck of cards really since Week 3 or 4, so it's not shocking when we don't have our full deck of cards. We'll prepare the way we need to prepare. We'll put guys in position to have success. That's what you do as coaches. That's what you do as players because the game is still going to be played on Sunday, so we have to be ready to play the game."

(On if he will have to make a more concentrated effort to scheme guys open this week)

"That's every week. It's every week."

(On the confidence he gained from the team's comeback win Sunday against the Jets)

"I know that about this team. I already feel that way about this team. Now, sometimes you fall short, and you don't always get the job done or accomplish your goal of winning the football game, but I have the utmost confidence in every coach, every player in that locker room that we'll find a way to get the job done. [I've] been in tough situations with this group and they always responded well. It's something I expect out of them. Sometimes you come up short, sometimes you don't find a way to win the game, but the effort has always been there with this group."

(On the work ethic of WR Cyril Grayson and WR Tyler Johnson)

"Like I told you, they're just waiting on opportunities. They've been getting opportunities and this group has always made plays. They've always made plays. Tyler has always made plays for us. Cyril has made plays for us but now he's making more because he is getting more opportunities. With the opportunities, we have full belief in whoever is out there playing. Now with the opportunities, certain numbers, certain different names are beginning to make plays and hopefully they'll keep just working and keep doing what they've been doing which is stepping up big for us and putting us in position to help us win football games."

(On the confidence he has in the younger players on the team)

"You hear me say it every week. You hear me say that I have the utmost confidence in everybody that's out there on the grass. One hundred percent confidence that they'll go out there and get the job done regardless of number, regardless of name on the back of their jersey."

(On QB Tom Brady finding ways to handle different challenges throughout his career)

"These are things we work on. We work on being multiple like this. We've all been around football a long time. Injuries, certain things always come up so in your preparation, we try to and think that everybody else is preparing and trying to be multiple too. We're just trying to put our team in the best position to help as an offense. Whatever we need to do that week, let's find a way to do that and be good enough at it to help our team win the football game. That's been our plan really from day one of making sure we're multiple. Making sure we're able to execute and win games in different ways because week-in and week-out, like I said since Week 3 or 4, we really haven't had our full deck of cards, but we've found ways to win games."

(On how tough it was to finish the game with only two healthy running backs)

"That's better than one. That's nothing. It's a tough group. We'll get through whatever we have to get through to try to win football games."

(On if he is worried that first down runs will become too predictable)

"I don't even know how to answer that question. That's like a fantasy football question or something. That's not a real football question."

(On why WR Scotty Miller has not seen more snaps)

"He'll get more opportunities as we go. He'll have more opportunities as we go. You can't have everybody catch it. Everybody can't catch it at the same time. He'll get more opportunities. Scotty is getting ready and making sure he's preparing for when his number is called. He'll be ready to make the plays."

(On if Miller is healthy)

"Yes."

QUARTERBACK TOM BRADY

(On his feelings regarding WR Antonio Brown)

"I think there's a lot of personal feelings, obviously. I don't think this is really the week to discuss it though. I'm just going to do the best I can do as the quarterback of the team, try to put together a great week and finish strong. You just always deal with different things over the course of the season and that's what we're doing this week."

(On if he is aware who is being targeted in the game)

"I think you'd always like to target – you want to get everyone involved, obviously. I think the receiver position there is always – they're a long way from the football, when you stand out there. As a quarterback, you honestly do the best you can do. You try to read the coverage, try to find the open guy and realize that guys are going to be open and unfortunately don't get it sometimes and other times you make bad reads, and you make bad throws. Just part of playing football and playing quarterback.

(On how aware he is of when teammates are injured during a game)

"I'm just thinking about my job, trying to do the best that I can do."

(On refocusing on the game against the Carolina Panthers this Sunday)

"Like I said, I think every year you have different challenges and adversities. I think the point is no two years are ever the same. As much as you would love to think, 'Hey, let's just do it like we did last year,' it never is the case. You've got to work differently. We've had a lot of different injuries this year on defense, some on offense, guys in and out. You just try to figure out different formulas to win each week. This is a unique week. Last week of the year. Different guys are king of stepping into different roles and doing the best job they possibly can."

(On WR Cyril Grayson stepping up)

"He's made the most of his opportunities. I think that it started last year. He did some good things for the team and continued into the offseason and training camp and really got a shot and made some plays in that New Orleans game and just has kind of kept it up. With Chris [Godwin] going down, obviously losing Antonio [Brown], different guys are going to have to step into those roles and do a great job. Those are big shoes to fill because those are really good players, but we're going to do everything we can to get the job done."

(On how he feels going into the first ever Week 18 in an NFL regular season)

"I feel good. There's different bumps and bruises over the course of the year, but I feel good, feel ready to go and get to the last game of the year. I [would have preferred] we just stay at 16 games, that would have been really smart. But as we know, a lot of these decisions aren't up to me personally."

(On preparing for an opponent you played two games prior)

"I think for both teams it's pretty much the same – it's what you make of it. The guys, they know us pretty well, obviously studying us pretty hard and playing us. So it's pretty familiar, just one game in between. We feel the same way, but you don't take it for granted. You have to still put the same amount of prep in, same amount of work on the practice field, film – you have to review everything, communicate. From a schedule standpoint, it's basically the same. You just treat it like a normal week, get prepared, go out there and do the best job you can do."

(On how to handle off-field distractions)

"I've had lots of different things over a period of time. I think what you've always got to think of is that the work is ahead of us. The more you think about things that have happened a year ago, five years ago, it just takes away from what we're trying to do this week. The best you can focus on [is] the job you have to do – and I know what I have to do. The team obviously counts on me to do a good job with what I'm doing. The more I can focus on that, the better it is. That's what I've tried to do this week, that's what I tried to do last week, that's what I tried to do the week before. I owe that to my teammates, my coaches and my family. I just want to go out there and do a great job."

(On if he enjoys the mental aspect of preparing for a new opponent each week)

"I think there's a lot of different traits that make great teams great teams. It's not just physical skill. I've been a part of a lot of teams that weren't the most physically gifted but found ways to get the job done. You get them done different ways. Sometimes it's a little more defense, sometimes it's a little more offense, sometimes it's a little more run game, sometimes it's a little more pass game, sometimes it's turnovers, sometimes it's red area stops, sometimes it's kicking game. The goal is to get the job done and win the game. That's what we're here to play for. We're here to win. However you win – whether it's 3-0 or whether it's 43-40, that's what we're playing for. We'd love for every game to be 55-0. That's not the reality of sports or football. You're not going to win every play, you're not going to win every quarter, you're not going to win every half. But at the end of the game – like last game, we led for 15 seconds. I was part of a Super Bowl [where] we didn't lead for any part of the game, but we won the game. It's a lot of determination and resilience. I think a lot of people discount those things because they look at physical skill and think that's the only thing that matters. I think a lot of the intangibles you see are equally important as how physically gifted you are or the scheme you'll run. Resilience, determination, discipline, mental and physical toughness are critical to winning games."

(On instilling confidence in players that are stepping into larger roles)

"It doesn't matter what I think, it's what we do together and what we're seeing together. Again, you have new players that you're trying to adjust to and we've got to do a great job. We've got to communicate, we've got to spend time on the field together and in meetings. Fortunately, we're all in there together all the time. We're talking all the time about different routes and different coverages and how we're going to make routes successful. It's a year-long process. Now that I'm in year two of it, it gets better and better so hopefully we keep it going."

WIDE RECEIVER CYRIL GRAYSON

(On what has made the difference in Tampa Bay compared to previous stops that has enabled him to find stability with the Buccaneers and to begin contributing on game days)

"I think it was the culture of the people around here. They just believed in me, and they saw something that they wanted to nurture. I think BA (Bruce Arians) said it – he saw a talent in me. I might not have been ready at that moment, but they ultimately took a chance on me. There was Seattle, who initially saw the talent and thought that it just didn't work out. I think every step along the way it was people who gave me a chance that ultimately developed me into who I am today – the way I view the league, the way I prepare, the way that I work. I think each step along the way helped me and catapulted me into who I am today. It just began to click. It took some time to be able to know everything that was going on in the playbook, read defenses and just stick. For me, being a person that wanted to do it, I thought I should be up there right now, but it's hard to take a chance on somebody who you don't know, who you are not positive if they are going to step in the way that you want them to, [someone] who has no experience. It's easier to go with a guy who had a lot more experiences, three or four years of college vs. a guy who hasn't ran a route in five or six years. Maybe I thought that I was ready, but I knew that I would be ready with the work being put in and all of those things."

(On when he realized that QB Tom Brady believed in him)

"There was a moment last year [where] we were out here at practice and to me it was slippery out there. I slipped down on one and then he threw me a ball and it was in the sun. I was making excuses and I was like, 'Man, the ground.' He was like, 'It's a perfectly laid ground.' Just being hard on me. And then he throws me the ball that's in the sun and he goes, 'Hey, I don't need any excuses. You're an NFL receiver.' Then there was a moment where I kind of put my head down – in a way defeated, like man, he's being too hard on me. But then, right after that he came back and said, 'The reason I'm so hard on you is because you have this talent. I just want to pull that out of you. I see that in you, and I just want you to see that in yourself.' From that moment, I knew he felt something in me. I knew that all it took was me getting out there everyday and him actually being able to throw me the ball to earn that ultimate trust."

(On how his track career built a foundation for him to be successful in the NFL)

"I've just always been a hard worker from [the time] I was a little kid. I also always won. I've won at every level, so I think that's a thing too. All the way back from the playground I won. In middle school, we won championships. In high school, I went to state championships. I went to championships in college, and I won. So, I think that winning mentality – I always say, winning is like the [best] thing to me. I'd probably rather not be loved than to lose. I hate losing so much, so I think that's the motivation too. I just don't want to lose. I don't want to fail. I think that's what translates."

(On how cool it is for him to think that there is someone on the other team's scout team simulating him this week)
"It's cool. It's cool. Hopefully they are working hard and hopefully they get their chance."

(On if he wants to be a guy that people idolize someday)

"No. I want people to look at me and my story and to feel like there is nothing that can be put in my way that I can't do. People can say no. People can try to deny me, but if I have mind set for it, then I can do it. That's what I want people to take from me. I don't want people to idolize me."

-BUCCANEERS-