When fans think of the Buccaneers, most, if not all, recall the Super Bowl-winning teams of 2002 and 2020. Anytime before that is generally seen as a dark era of Bucs football filled with a lot of losing seasons. Even with that caveat, plenty of players shined with impressive years and stints. Players that are largely forgotten in the minds of fans, apart from the most ardent and hardcore supporters.

For this series, I wanted to take a look at players who are underrated or not mentioned much when discussing the team’s history. The number of players mentioned in each entry will vary based on position.

The only rules are that they were Bucs between 1976 to 1996 – fitting the prerequisite of rocking the original “Bucco Bruce” uniforms – and are worth remembering. 

Overview:

Turning back the clock and going through the team’s history, it is not so glamorous when looking over the quarterbacks that Tampa Bay had prior to the 21st century. 

The days of former “Throwin’ Samoan” Jack Thompson did not last long. Drafting Steve Young, only to see him go 3-16 as a starter before trading him to San Francisco, where he had a Hall of Fame career. In the organization’s attempts to find a quarterback, most did not pan out. 

Through all of the failures of drafting and developing a quarterback, a few signal-callers had decent to solid stints in Tampa Bay before – like Young – having greater success elsewhere. 

Forgotten Bucs At QB 

1. Doug Williams 

The numbers Doug Williams posted in Tampa Bay do not do him justice compared to today’s modern era and what he overcame to become one of the better quarterbacks in team history.

Taking offensive coordinator Joe Gibbs’ (that Joe Gibbs) recommendation, head coach/general manager John McKay decided to make Williams the Bucs’ first-round pick in the 1978 NFL Draft. With that, he had the burden of leading the lowly franchise to that point on his back.

Former Bucs QB Doug Williams – Photo by: The Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Up to then, the Bucs went 0-14 and 2-12 in their first two seasons. In 1977, Tampa Bay quarterbacks combined for three touchdowns and 30 interceptions. The team would begin to turn from a laughingstock to a respectable contender with Williams leading the offense.

In his rookie year, Williams started 10 games and won four of them, a dramatic improvement. The following season, the Bucs surprised the NFL by going 10-6 and making it all the way to the NFC Championship Game. 

What really speaks to and drives home the impact that Doug Williams had is the fact that – between 1976-1996, the only winning seasons the franchise had were with him at quarterback. 

Overall, Williams started 67 regular-season games and four playoff contests, going 33-33-1 and 1-3 in the playoffs. 

Although things were trending well for the Bucs, Williams would leave after a contract dispute and play in the USFL from 1984-1985. At that point, Gibbs was the head coach of the then-Washington Redskins. He made a call to bring Williams back to the NFL, but no one expected that something legendary would happen next.

Chosen to start in the playoffs in 1987, Williams would go on to duel with John Elway in Super Bowl XXII. He would throw for 340 yards and four touchdowns in a 42-10 rout and was named the game’s MVP. Williams also became the first black quarterback to start – and win – the Super Bowl.

By most measures, Doug Williams had a successful NFL career. He accomplished leading the Bucs to respectability, although his departure signaled a drop in both team performance and attendance. In fact, when he left for the USFL and found success with the Redskins, some Bucs fans said that there was a “Doug Williams curse” in Tampa Bay.

Besides this challenge, he also had to overcome circumstances out of his control by being a black NFL quarterback in the 1970s. In an era in which quarterbacks of color were few and far between, Williams was a catalyst for those that followed by having success and proving doubters wrong. 

2. Vinny Testaverde

With the Bucs struggling to find a long-term answer at quarterback after Williams, they attempted to solve this issue by taking Vinny Testaverde first overall pick in 1987. In doing so, they shipped out Steve Young to be Joe Montana’s backup, which turned out pretty well for the 49ers. 

While it would be all the more clear after the fact that the circumstances surrounding the quarterback were more to blame for poor play than the quarterback itself, it is worth noting and remembering Testaverde’s tenure. 

Ex-Bucs QB Vinny Testaverde – Photo by: Sports Illustrated

He would go on to be the starter between 1987-1992, going 24-48 as a starter and throwing 77 touchdowns to 112 interceptions. Not inspiring numbers by any means, but the interception total was buoyed by a disastrous 1988 season where he threw 13 touchdowns to 35 interceptions. 

While the Bucs would float around having five wins a season with Testaverde starting, it was actually an improvement before his arrival. In a 2015 piece by the Tampa Bay Times, he talked about the high expectations placed on him and how he handled them.

“Coming to a team like Tampa Bay, coming to a team that did not win many games before I ever got there, that was stressful in itself, Testaverde said then. “(I was) just feeling like, okay, I have to be the difference-maker. Because in college, you can say I was one of the better players, but I had the talent around me.

“When I came to the Bucs, the talent we had was young talent — Mark Carrier, Bruce Hill, Ron Hall — a lot of rookies learning together and making a lot of mistakes. … At the quarterback position, everything gets enhanced. Everybody looks at it differently, but it is a lot to handle for a young man.”

With Testaverde not being able to live up to his draft status and already approaching 30 years old, it was no surprise when the team let him leave.

What was surprising is that he would go on to spend 15 more seasons in the NFL after 1992, ending his career in 2007 with the Panthers. In that time, Testaverde became a two-time Pro Bowler with the Ravens and Jets and bounced around later in his career with the Cowboys, Patriots, and Panthers. In his final game, he ended it where he started, taking a knee at the end of the game in Tampa Bay. 

Although he did not become the franchise quarterback many expected him to be leading the team into the 1990s, it was at a time few, if any, quarterbacks could have excelled in the circumstances. For that reason, and the fact he found NFL relevance, it is worth putting him on the list as a forgotten Buccaneer. Testaverde is still second on the Bucs’ all-time passing yards list with 14,820 – ahead of Tom Brady (14,643) and trailing only Jameis Winston (19,737).

3. Trent Dilfer 

The last entry on the quarterback list is the next high draft pick invested into the quarterback position after Testaverde – Trent Dilfer. The Fresno State product would be selected sixth overall in 1994 and would be the full-time starter heading into his second season. 

Bucs QB Trent Dilfer – Photo by: USA Today

Between 1994-1999, Dilfer helped lead the Bucs from the NFC Central cellar to a 10-6 record and Wild Card berth in 1997.

Facing two divisional opponents at the time, the team won, 20-10, against the Lions in a home playoff game before losing, 21-7, to the Packers in the divisional round. At that point, the building blocks on defense were set with Derrick Brooks, Warren Sapp, John Lynch, and Ronde Barber. Each is now a Hall of Famer, with Barber’s induction right around the corner. 

Dilfer had his best overall statistical season that year, finishing with 21 touchdowns, 11 interceptions, and being selected for the Pro Bowl. After two more seasons with the Bucs, he would go on to sign with the Ravens in 2000 and be their starting quarterback while pairing with a dominant defense, one they rode to a Super Bowl victory. 

In a thought-provoking “what if” scenario, it is worth pondering if the Bucs would have reached a similar pinnacle in 2002 had he continued his career in Tampa Bay instead. 

Overall, Dilfer went an even 38-38 as the Bucs’ starter and was the liaison between the struggles and success that has defined the franchise’s history. Caught between eras, one may forget that he was the first Pro Bowl quarterback the team had, and he did not do as poorly as the others before him. Dilfer’s 79 starts in Tampa Bay remain the most by any Bucs quarterback to this day.