The return of the Bucs’ creamsicle throwback uniforms in 2023 felt like a massive occasion. The team wore its iconic orange and white for the first time since 2012, plus Raymond James Stadium and everyone inside were decked out in the old colors with plenty of Bucco Bruce sightings throughout.

Despite the loss in that 2023 creamsicle game, it still felt like a big deal when the throwbacks came back again in 2024. And while the perceived “creamsicle curse” continued with another loss in 2024, it’s still worth wondering: When will the Bucs break out the Bucco Bruce helmets and orange jerseys in 2025?

With the full schedule released, we can narrow down Tampa Bay’s options. This is something Pewter Report’s Scott Reynolds covered in a recent Bucs Mailbag, but why not expand on it?

The creamsicle game may feel like even more of an occasion this time around considering the Bucs are celebrating their 50th season in 2025. Seeing the team return to its roots – hopefully with a win this time – should be special.

Bucs QB Baker Mayfield – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

But again, when would it make sense for the Bucs to wear their beloved throwbacks? When you look at the way the schedule unfolds, there seems like an obvious choice. For context, the 2023 creamsicle game came on Oct. 15, which was the Sunday of Week 6. Last year’s game was on Oct. 27, the Sunday of Week 8.

So, if we operate under the precedent that Tampa Bay likes holding its throwback game in October, there’s an easy pick – and it’s an easy pick for multiple reasons. That would be the Week 6 game against the San Francisco 49ers, which will be on Oct. 12.

On the one hand, that’s the Bucs’ only home game in October. So, that may make it a winner on its own. But add in the fact that the game is against the 49ers and it makes even more sense. After all, John Lynch will be back in town. The Pro Football Hall of Famer and Bucs Ring of Honor inductee is, of course, San Francisco’s general manager.

Bucs Ring of Honor member John Lynch Photo by: USA Today

A third-round pick by Tampa Bay in 1993, Lynch donned the creamsicle uniforms for his first four seasons with the Bucs. It would be fitting to have him in the building when the 2025 team breaks out the old Bucco Bruce helmets, wouldn’t it? And while he’s in town, why shouldn’t the Bucs finally go ahead with the induction of his former teammate, Hardy Nickerson, into their Ring of Honor?

Tampa Bay already announced that it will be inducting Simeon Rice into the Ring of Honor during the team’s Week 13 game against the Cardinals on Nov. 30, but why not make the 50th season celebrations even more special with another induction? The organization hasn’t doubled up on inductions since 2017, when both Malcolm Glazer and Jon Gruden were honored. That came two years after another two-induction season in 2015, which was when Mike Alstott and Doug Williams were added.

With a potential throwback game and Ring of Honor induction day in Week 6, that leaves plenty of cushion before the other already-announced Ring of Honor induction day for Rice, which again comes in Week 13.

Speaking Of Doubling Up: Could Bucs Have Multiple Throwback Games?

By rule, yes, the Bucs could have multiple throwback games this season. A few months ago, the NFL tweaked its rules and now allows teams to wear throwback uniforms for up to four games over the course of the 17-game regular season. It’s hard to imagine the Bucs – or any team – going with the maximum of four. But might Tampa Bay double up on throwback games for its 50th season?

If they wear the orange throwbacks twice at home, maybe that Week 14 game against the Saints on Dec. 7 would be long enough after the Week 6 game against the 49ers. The added wrinkle and perhaps more intriguing (and maybe even more likely?) possibility is the introduction of a second throwback uniform for Tampa Bay. Perhaps an all-white version of the throwbacks, similar to what the team wore for so many years in the 1970s, 1980s and early 1990s.

White/Creamsicle version of Bucs’ 50th anniversary logo (h/t SportsLogos.net)

That’s a possibility we’ve covered before here on PewterReport.com, as there was a leaked 50th season logo and accompanying jersey that could’ve been a hint at new white throwbacks. If these exist and are introduced for 2025, maybe the Bucs sub them in for a game early in the season, which is when the team likes to wear white at home in hot temperatures anyway.

If that were to happen, the Week 4 game against the Eagles would be an intriguing choice, as Pewter Report’s Scott Reynolds pointed out in that recent Bucs Mailbag. The franchise earned its first-ever playoff win over Philadelphia in 1979 while orange jerseys and white pants, but it was with the old Bucco Bruce helmets, so maybe this becomes the throwback game and the team wears white jerseys instead? And if the Eagles came to town in their Kelly Green throwbacks? Sign me up.

But if we’re sticking with the idea of wearing the creamsicles for the October home game against the 49ers, that would be back-to-back throwback home games. Would the team do that? Maybe – especially in the 50th season of the Buccaneers.

Another option would once again be that Dec. 7 home game against the Saints. The Bucs’ first-ever win came over the Saints in 1977, and they were wearing those white jerseys when they snapped the franchise’s infamous 26-game losing streak.

And for one final possibility: Perhaps Tampa Bay introduces a white throwback and wears them on the road? If that’s the case, the team’s Week 5 game in Seattle could set up a spectacular matchup featuring two of the best throwback uniforms in the game. After all, the Bucs and Seahawks both entered the league in 1976 and are celebrating 50 years of existence.