Buccaneers: Five players that made their mark away from Tampa Bay
By Bailey Adams
1. Steve Young
It’s almost poetic, isn’t it? The Buccaneers, until 2015 at least, just could not find a franchise quarterback. Yet, they once had one of the top quarterbacks in NFL history. But of course, he wasn’t that guy when they had him. Steve Young played two miserable seasons with Tampa Bay, then went on to be a Hall of Famer with the San Francisco 49ers. Oh, that’s good for him, but it’s yet another painful note in Buccaneer history.
In two years with the Bucs, Young went 3-16 as the starting quarterback. He threw for a total of 3,217 yards and 11 touchdowns to 21 interceptions. His completion percentage was south of 55 percent. But as things tend to go with Tampa Bay, he moved on to have a career full of records and achievements. In 13 years with the 49ers, Young threw for 29,907 yards and 221 touchdowns. He won three Super Bowl trophies, while being named MVP in one of them. He was a seven-time selection to the Pro Bowl, a three-time first-team All-Pro, a three-time second-team All-Pro and a two-time league MVP. Meanwhile, the Bucs struggled to find a competent signal-caller for most of their history.
This wasn’t directly the fault of Tampa Bay management or coaching. The franchise was just in a bad place performance-wise, which made things difficult for Young. He clearly had the talent, as he proved once he found a better environment for success on the West Coast. Still, it’s not a whole lot of fun to think about the fact that one of the all-time greats was once an underachieving Buccaneer.
Next: Buccaneers: Five best receivers in team history
Alright, Bucs fans. Enough talk of the disappointment. The focus is on the future, which looks to be pretty bright for Tampa Bay. But what did you think of this list? Let us know in the comments, on Twitter or on Facebook.