Category: Bucs History

Bucs DL Vita Vea named NFL’s best No. 12 overall pick of the last decade

This ranking of the top pick from every first-round slot in the NFL draft from the past 10 years featured one Tampa Bay Buccaneer

At this point in the offseason, it’s a good time to look back at recent events in the NFL and take stock of where the league’s at in a bunch of different ways.

One such venture from our good friends at Draft Wire was to rank the best player selected at each of the 32 slots in the first round of the NFL draft from the past decade, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers landed themselves one of those spots.

Defensive lineman Vita Vea was picked as the best No. 12 overall pick from the last 10 years, the Bucs’ pick back in the 2018 NFL draft.

A massive mauler who dominated at Washington, Vea landed in Tampa Bay after the Bucs traded back from the No. 7 spot with the Buffalo Bills, who moved up for quarterback Josh Allen.

Things have worked out pretty well for both sides, as Allen has become one of the most prolific quarterbacks in the game, while Vea has established himself as one of the league’s most dominant interior defenders.

To check out the full list at Draft Wire, click here.

Steve Spurrier tells hilarious story about Bucs’ winless 1st season

The former Bucs quarterback remembers a funny moment from Tampa Bay’s infamous 26-game losing streak

Long before he was the “Head Ball Coach” at Florida and South Carolina, Steve Spurrier was a Heisman Trophy winner for the Gators, and quarterback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in their earliest days.

The Bucs famously lost the first 26 games of their NFL existence, not tasting victory until the final weeks of their second season with a road win over the New Orleans Saints.

Spurrier was recently inducted into the Sports Club of Tampa Bay Hall of Fame, and took the opportunity to tell one heck of a funny story about those early days of Bucs football in The Big Sombrero of Tampa Stadium:

Things have gotten a bit better for both the Bucs and Spurrier over the years, as both have won multiple championships on the gridiron.

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Relive one of the wildest plays in Bucs history

It’s hard to believe this play actually happened, but here’s the video evidence

Be warned, we’re about to talk about…that game.

You know, the one we don’t talk about.

Yep, that’s the one.

But, we’re gonna ignore how it finished, and just talk about one of the wildest plays in Tampa Bay Buccaneers history.

Long before the Bucs blew a fourth-quarter lead in epic fashion, they were well on their way to running up the score on Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts in front of a national audience on Monday Night Football.

Along the way, a Brad Johnson interception quickly turned into the strangest touchdown of Keenan McCardell’s career.

You have to see it to believe it:

Now, let’s go back to forgetting the rest of this game ever happened.

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WATCH: How the Bucs developed their new helmet design in 1997

Check out this awesome behind-the-scenes look at how the Tampa Bay Buccaneers eventually chose their new helmet design back in 1997

Prior to the 1997 season, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers decided to overhaul their logo and uniforms for the first time in franchise history, leaving behind the Creamsicle and Bucco Bruce days for a new, more modern look.

They did just that with a red and pewter set, complete with a red battle flag and skull/crossbones logo, a more updated version of which the team still uses to this day (after whatever that alarm-clock situation was from 2014 to 2019).

But how exactly did the Bucs end up settling on that pewter helmet with the red flag? Just how many different helmet concepts did they go through before landing on that iconic look?

Well, here’s an awesome behind-the-scenes look at how it all came together:

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Lavonte David tells a fantastic Tom Brady story

Watch Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker Lavonte David recount a fantastic Super Bowl story about his former quarterback, Tom Brady

After spending nine (mostly) losing seasons in Tampa Bay, Bucs linebacker Lavonte David was starving for success when Tom Brady signed with the team in March of 2020.

By the end of that year, David would be hoisting the Lombardi Trophy right alongside the GOAT.

That 2020 season was full of iconic stories from Brady and the Bucs, and during his recent appearance on “The Rich Eisen Show,” David recounted a couple of his favorite stories from the legendary quarterback.

As it turns out, Brady didn’t spend a ton of time making “rah rah” speeches to his Tampa Bay teammates throughout that season.

But when he did speak up, it made quite an impact:

And the rest, as they say, is history.

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50 years ago today, the Bucs were born

On this day 50 years ago, the NFL awarded a new expansion franchise to the Tampa Bay community, and the Buccaneers were born

It’s a good day, Tampa Bay.

That’s because 50 years ago today, the NFL awarded a new franchise to the Tampa Bay community, and the Buccaneers were born.

Things started out rough for Bucco Bruce and the krewe, as the Bucs lost the first 26 games of their existence. But they quickly turned things around, winning a division title and coming up nine points short of a trip to the Super Bowl in 1979, just their fourth season in the league.

Two decades later, the Bucs would hoist the Lombardi Trophy for the first time, thanks to a legendary defense that featured four future Hall of Famers.

Nearly two more decades after that, another dominant defensive performance and another MVP outing from Tom Brady would give the Bucs a second world championship.

Along the way, the Bucs have built a tightly knit fan base that now stretches across the entire world.

Happy birthday, Bucs fans.

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29 years ago today, Bucs made NFL draft history

The Bucs’ 1995 draft class will always go down as one of the best in NFL history

Only one time in NFL history has a team picked two Hall of Fame defenders in the first round of the same draft.

It was 1995, the team was the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

At the No. 12 overall pick, the Bucs landed Miami defensive lineman Warren Sapp. At the 28th overall selection, Tampa Bay stayed in-state once again with Florida State linebacker Derrick Brooks.

Sapp and Brooks became two of the best players in NFL history at their respective positions, and helped change a losing culture in Tampa Bay, a transformation that culminated with the team’s first Super Bowl win back in 2002.

Those two selections continue to live on as one of the best drafts in NFL history, and easily the most important one the Bucs have ever had.

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The legend of Lee Roy Selmon

48 years ago, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers made Lee Roy Selmon the first draft pick in franchise history

48 years ago, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers made their first NFL draft pick in franchise history.

And boy, did they make it count.

With the No. 1 overall selection in the 1976 NFL draft, the Bucs picked Oklahoma defensive end Lee Roy Selmon, who would quickly become one of the most dominant defensive players in league history, and one of the most iconic figures to ever wear a Bucs uniform.

The NFL’s Defensive Player of the Year in 1979, Selmon was six-time Pro Bowler who eventually became the Bucs’ first member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Ron Wolf, the Bucs’ vice president of football operations back in 1976, holds Selmon in the highest regard among the greatest defenders to ever play the game:

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Bucs flashback: Relive the 2020 Super Bowl season

Take a trip down memory lane and relive the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ incredible Super Bowl season of 2020

Right now, the current version of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers is about to add even more talent to their roster in the upcoming 2024 NFL draft.

But in the meantime, let’s take a look back at beginning of this current run in which the Bucs are currently riding a four-year playoff streak, including three consecutive NFC South titles.

This run began with the addition of Tom Brady heading into the 2020 season, and despite a somewhat rocky start, that campaign would end with an epic playoff run, one that would culminate with a dominant victory over Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs for Tampa Bay’s second Lombardi Trophy in franchise history.

Take a look back at the epic 2020 season in Tampa Bay:

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WATCH: Rondé Barber’s career highlights

Relive all the best plays from Rondé Barber’s legendary Hall of Fame career with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers

One of the most legendary players in Tampa Bay Buccaneers history, Hall of Fame cornerback Rondé Barber turns 49 years old today, so let’s celebrate by looking back at some of the best plays from his incredible 16-year career.

A third-round pick in the 1997 NFL draft out of Virginia, Barber was an afterthought early in his career, but he eventually became a revolutionary player who redefined what it meant to be an impact player at the cornerback position.

A big-play machine, Barber finally received his long-awaited place in the Pro Football Hall of Fame last year.

Here’s a look back at all the best plays from his legendary career:

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