Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 30 greatest players in franchise history

Earlier, I mentioned how the Buccaneers began their existence in the NFL with 26 consecutive losses. Cedric Brown was one of the few bright spots of the early years, showing his talent despite being on a losing team. During his nine seasons in Florida, Brown flashed his brilliance, setting the franchise record for interceptions that stood until Donnie Abraham broke it in 2001. His mark of 29 interceptions still ranks third all-time in franchise history.

At 6-foot-1 and nearly 200 pounds, Brown was a relatively large ball-hawking safety who was also capable of laying the wood. In today’s NFL, especially with the new rules regarding tackling, Brown would likely not have found as much success as he did.

During his nine-season stint with the Buccaneers, Brown only went one season without an interception. That season was his rookie year in which he only appeared in one game. It’s kind of hard to expect him to do anything with only one appearance.

However, in the next eight seasons, Brown recorded a minimum of one interception, typically finishing with three or more. He finished his total with 29. If you excluded his rookie 1976 season, that is an average of three per season.

Because Brown was on bad teams and didn’t truly contribute to their success, he finds himself near the bottom of this ranking. His ability to play the safety position goes unquestioned, he was a talented player, but because he wasn’t able to contribute to some sort of franchise success, he falls below 25 other players.