After 3 seasons in NFL, Monroeville's Robert Hainsey continues rise with Tampa Bay

Robert Hainsey spent some time outside the U.S. earlier this month vacationing with family and friends.

It was a welcomed time of relaxation for the Monroeville native who had just completed his third NFL season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

“It was very nice,” said Hainsey, a former Gateway lineman who graduated from IMG Academy in Florida and Notre Dame before turning pro in 2021.

“Everyone will tell you it is some much-needed time off, both mentally and physically. You just don’t have many breaks throughout the season and even back to the early summer with all you have to do to get ready. Right after minicamp is when I am training my hardest. From camp, you’re rolling until the season is over. We had our Thursday game and the bye week within the first five weeks, so we had 14 weeks straight of no time off. It was constant preparation for the next game all the way through the game in Detroit.”

Hainsey again started at center for a Bucs team which went 9-8 overall in the regular season and captured the NFC South title.

Tampa opened the playoffs on Super Wild Card weekend at home against Philadelphia and rolled past the Eagles, 32-9.

“It was probably the best crowd I’ve seen at Raymond James (Stadium),” Hainsey said.

“With it being a night game, the atmosphere was electric. It was so much fun. It was a true playoff atmosphere. Those games are why everyone works so hard. We came in playing good football and were able to keep it going.”

The Bucs’ season came to an end one week later at Detroit as the Lions advanced to the NFL Championship game with a 31-23 victory.

“It was crazy up there,” Hainsey said. “Those fans were definitely on it. It might have been the loudest game I’ve ever played in. Every second we were on the field, it was rocking from beginning to end. Kudos to Detroit for creating an atmosphere that brought those fans back.”

Hainsey said his first three years in the NFL went by so fast.

After his senior season at Notre Dame, Hainsey played in the Senior Bowl in front of numerous scouts and NFL coaches.

“That was a grind of a week because of all of the practices and trying to meet with all of the teams,” Hainsey said.

“But it was a great experience.”

Hainsey also opened some eyes at Notre Dame’s pro day which led him to the 2021 NFL Draft where he was selected in the third round with the 95th overall pick.

“We watch the first night together, me, my parents, my sister and my grandparents,” he said.

“The second day, we had a few more people there because we felt it might be a late second day or early third day. We hung for a while and went through 60 picks or so. I remember I was in the kitchen getting some food and the phone rang. It said Tampa. I knew they were on the clock. I was just, ‘Wow.’ I went back into the living room and said Tampa was calling me. It was an awesome experience.

“This was what I wanted to do my whole life. I had that dream of playing in the NFL, and that dream was coming true. I also realized that the next chapter was starting and the real work was beginning.”

Hainsey went through all of the early processes as a rookie in the league, and got to camp hoping for a shot to make it. He was surrounded by several veteran players, including future first-ballot Hall of Famer Tom Brady.

“It’s been extremely gratifying to play in the NFL, improve my skills and play with and learn from some really awesome guys,” he said.

Hainsey was a backup at center and guard for his rookie season and helped the Bucs make the playoffs and roll to a Super Bowl title with a win over the Kansas City Chiefs.

“They didn’t draft me to play right away, and I was not ready to do that,” Hainsey said. “I was still figuring everything out. I wasn’t a center yet. Transitioning to the NFL from college is not easy. Switching to a new position added a whole different set of wrinkles. To have that year to watch and learn was outstanding. I figured out how things were going to go.”

In camp leading up to start the 2022 season, veteran center Ryan Jensen went down with a knee injury that sidelined him until the playoffs.

Hainsey, who worked at all three line positions in the offseason, came into camp thinking there would be a chance to compete for a starting job. He was suddenly thrust into the starting limelight, centering the football to Brady and anchoring the offensive line.

“You never want to see that happen, especially to your friends and teammates,” Hainsey said.

“It was devastating to see that. But I just wanted to take advantage of my opportunity and learn as much as I could on the fly because it was the first time with some real, meaningful reps, and at center.”

Hainsey said he learned a lot in the starring role at center in 2022 as Tampa again made the playoffs with Brady at quarterback.

Hainsey was 3 when Brady ascended to the starting role with New England in 2001 and began his dynastic run to six Super Bowl titles with the Patriots.

“It was pretty awesome I got to do that with Tom in his last season and be a part of that team with a great group of guys,” he said.

“I wanted to take those lessons learned previously and put it into action on the field. ”

The 2022 season included a game at Acrisure Stadium (formerly Heinz Field) against the Steelers with friends and family in attendance. It wasn’t the outcome he and his Bucs teammates hoped for as Pittsburgh won 20-18.

“Getting the chance to experience and play in new stadiums is always cool,” Hainsey said.

“That one at Heinz was definitely special having grown up there and it being home.”

Tampa again won the NFL South but wasn’t able to duplicate its 2021 Super Bowl run as it fell to Dallas, 31-14, in a Wild Card playoff.

A silver lining for that playoff game, Hainsey said, was seeing the return of Jensen to the lineup after recovering.

“Ryan definitely worked hard to come back,” he said. “He was so good in giving me another set of eyes and a good person to talk to and bounce ideas off of.

“He played a lot of games at center, and he was great in helping me learn.”

Season 3 began with a new quarterback under center in Baker Mayfield who earned the starting job in training camp. But Hainsey said the goals of the team didn’t change. The Bucs won the NFC South and started the playoffs at home.

“Baker has been awesome,” Hainsey said. “I can’t say enough good things about him. We’ve gotten really close. We went on vacation together. He’s been an awesome friend, and an amazing teammate and player. Getting to play with him is a lot of fun. There was a difference in how Baker went about doing things from how Tom did things. He worked so hard to make sure we were on the same page every week. We got much better each week with that communication and with what each other is seeing.”

Hainsey is entering the final year of his rookie contract in 2024. With offseason work, the draft and other things leading up to training camp in July, he is optimistic about the direction in which the Bucs are headed.

There will be some change in the offense as offensive coordinator Dave Caneles left the Bucs after the season to become the head coach for rival Carolina.

“You never stop figuring out ways to get back to the playoffs and have games like we did (against Philadelphia and Detroit),” Hainsey said.

“The biggest thing is to keep our identity and continue to push together. We will have a new system, per se, on offense, but there also will be some carryover. With the whole team, there was no quit in any game all year, no matter what the circumstances were. I am excited to get to work with them again.”