Cook’s Top 5: Tampa Bay Buccaneers Quarterbacks

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have an interesting history. The worst winning percentage of any franchise currently in the National Football League. Absolutely miserable at the outset, a long streak of futility after a brief stretch of relevance, and then a long streak of uselessness after that before signing Tom Brady. You’d like to call them the worst franchise in NFL history, but they’ve got two more Super Bowl wins than my Bengals, or the Browns, Lions, Cardinals or most other teams we put in this conversation.

Such a weird franchise. They’re either at the top of the league or a complete joke. Not much middle ground to be had. People want to tell me about Vinny Testaverde’s stint with the team when he had more interceptions than Barry Horowitz had losses. Let’s go ahead and count five down as quick as we can.

5. Trent Dilfer

Dilfer was the sixth overall pick in the 1994 NFL Draft, and to say he got off to a rough start would be a bit of an understatement. Downright ugly numbers in 1995 & 95, but 1997 saw a turnaround that led to a Pro Bowl selection. It also led to the Buccaneers making the playoffs for the first time in fifteen years. Dilfer still holds the record for most wins as a starting quarterback of the Buccaneers with thirty-eight. He never set the world on fire, but he grew into the role of “game manager”. His career as an analyst & quarterback guru after retiring from football show that he understood the position better than most.

4. Doug Williams

You can’t overstate how dreadful the Buccaneers were during the first years of their existence. They lost their first twenty-six games, being shut out in eleven of them. When asked about the execution of his football team, coach John McKay said he was for it. All of a sudden, in year 4, the Bucs win the NFC Central and make it to the conference championship game. The young defense got better, running back Ricky Bell went for 1,000 yards, and Doug Williams emerged as the Bucs’ first somewhat competent quarterback. The Bucs had taken him seventeenth overall in the 1978 Draft, making Williams the first Black quarterback taken in the first round in Draft history.

Williams wasn’t the strongest part of that team, but he would improve in the next couple of seasons. He threw for over 3,000 yards in 1980 & 81, finishing in the top ten in the league. Williams would take the Bucs back to the playoffs in 1981 & 82 before leaving for the USFL due to a contract dispute. The Buccaneers would lose ten games or more each of the next twelve seasons, and wouldn’t post a winning record until 1997. Williams would win a Super Bowl with Washington. Tampa probably should have kept him around.

3. Jameis Winston

Jan 3, 2016; Charlotte, NC, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Jameis Winston (3) looks to pass in the third quarter. The Panthers defeated the Buccaneers 31-10 at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports

Winston was the first overall pick in the 2015 NFL Draft, having been one of college football’s top stars during his two seasons at Florida State. He came out of the gate strong, earning a Pro Bowl selection & being named Rookie of the Year after his first season. He kept putting up numbers the next few seasons, including 5,109 passing yards in 2019. That led the league, but he also led the league in interceptions & overall turnovers. The consistent inconsistency on the field combined with off-field issues led to Bucs management souring on their young QB, and letting him go after the 2019 season.

Famous Jameis tops the Bucs’ list in most passing categories. Most passing yards by nearly five thousand. Most touchdowns by forty-one. He’s played in the third-most games, so it’s not like some of these franchise lists where one guy plays twice as many games as everybody else. He put up some numbers, but they weren’t enough to keep Tampa from looking for better options. They found one, and now Winston’s in New Orleans hoping to fill Drew Brees’ old position. It’s a great opportunity for Jameis to prove that he deserved the hype he got coming out of college…if he can fight off Taysom Hill.

2. Tom Brady

I got the impression that some Buccaneers fans were a bit insulted at the idea that TB could be the franchise’s best quarterback after one season. Granted, there might be a touch of recency bias here, as Brady’s one season with Tampa Bay was the most recent season, and ended in a Super Bowl victory. Dude’s 1 for 1 in winning titles for this team. Threw for 4,633 yards & 40 touchdowns. good for third & second-best in the league respectively. Oh, and he was 43 years old. Will be 44 this Tuesday. Had a torn up knee for this season where he was old. Didn’t seem to affect him too much.

Doesn’t matter. Brady will have a game or two, or even a moment of two where he looks human. Many of you will take that as reason to believe that the old man’s washed up and doesn’t have it anymore. Me, I’ll believe that when he’s retired. All indications are he’ll last long enough in Tampa to become this franchise’s official GOAT. Just needs another season like this one to do it, in my opinion.

1. Brad Johnson

Johnson was drafted in the 9th round of the the 1992 NFL Draft, which doesn’t even exist nowadays. His time with Minnesota led to a stint with Washington where he got his first Pro Bowl selection, and those two seasons led him to Tampa Bay. The Bucs were in that time period where all they needed was a game manager at QB, and Johnson was able to be that.

Johnson’s second Pro Bowl selection came in 2002, the season where the Bucs had their most wins in franchise history and won their first Super Bowl under the teaching of Jon Gruden. That boy got a decade of announcing Monday Night Football and a big money deal coaching the Raiders. Craziness. As obsessed as Gruden is with quarterbacks, Johnson is the best one he ever coached. How bout that?

Thanks for reading! Next time we look at the Tennessee Titans!