5 players the Tampa Bay Buccaneers should have never let walk

2. QB Doug Williams

Despite leading the Buccaneers to the playoffs in the span of 1978-1982, the Buccaneers kept Williams as one of the lowest paid quarterbacks in the NFL. So underpaid in fact, that when his contract expired in 1982 that he decided to take his talents to the USFL, where he played the next three years of his career before returning to the NFL.

While with the Buccaneers for the first five years of his career after being a sixth round pick out of Grambling State, Williams threw for a total of over 12,600 yards with 73 touchdowns and 72 interceptions. His claim to fame with the Buccaneers was, again, leading them to three playoff appearances.

All he did upon returning to the NFL was to win the Super Bowl with Washington in 1988, where he was also named as the MVP of the game. He threw for 27 touchdowns and 20 interceptions during his limited playing time with Washington from 1986-1989. Williams became the first African-American quarterback to hoist the Lombardi Trophy.

Where would the Buccaneers’ franchise have gone if they would have been willing to pay Williams what he was worth and kept him in the NFL? Williams was a proven leader who decided to uproot his career in the middle of his prime as he felt under-appreciated by the Buccaneers.