Ranking top 5 quarterbacks in Buccaneers history
Quarterbacks have been a sore subject for most of the Buccaneers existence, but there are five who stand out as players fans will forever be proud of in one way or another.
By Josh Hill
There have been more than a few sore subjected in Tampa Bay Buccaneers history, but the topic of quarterback probably takes the cake.
Few things are as depressing as musing about the history of Buccaneers quarterbacks, which rivals almost any other franchise in the league. Remember that Browns uniform some fan made where it’s just a list of quarterbacks and each false prophet is crossed out? You could have swapped out brown for pewter and the sentiment remains the exact same.
Talking about Buccaneers quarterbacks over the years is like that scene in Jaws where they all talk about their scars and how they got them. It’s been objectively brutal to watch but there have been a handful of quarterbacks who have stood out as shining examples of hope — and in some cases even more than that.
Ranking top 5 quarterbacks in Buccaneers history
T5. Dilfer. (1994-1999). 12,969 yds, 80 INTs, 70 TDs. Trent Dilfer. Trent Dilfer. . . player. 48
- 38-38 record
- 1-1 playoff record
- Pro Bowler (1997)
- 2 playoff appearances
Freeman. T5. 48. . . (2009-2013). 13,534 yds, 71 INTs, 80 TDs. Josh Freeman. Josh Freeman. player
- 24-35 record
This is a sort of double-edged sword for Buccaneers fans, as one way of looking at this is that the fifth-best quarterback in franchise history is a tie between Trent Dilfer and Josh Freeman.
That’s not exactly an MJ vs. LeBron debate, but it’s the reality of being a Bucs fan.
However, rather than look at it negatively there are a lot of positives to take away from both quarterbacks that fuels an interesting — and less depressing — argument. Dilfer won’t get his number in the Ring of Honor anytime soon but he was a pretty decent quarterback for the Bucs who is ultimately defined by one of the biggest What-If’s in franchise history.
If Dilfer doesn’t get hurt in 1999, do the Buccaneers win the Super Bowl?
There’s an argument to be made that the ‘99 defense was better than the legendary ‘02 defense, but the difference is the Super Bowl that the latter won. Dilfer proved a year later that he was capable of being the type of game manager who can keep the offense out of a world-class defense’s way long enough to win a Super Bowl when he won a ring in Baltimore, and there’s a universe where he’s playing in the NFC Championship Game against the Rams and helps the offense score more than the 11-points the defense allowed.
Josh Freeman is a bit of a different case but he’s another What-If case too. He wasn’t setting the world on fire but his career could have been different if he were given an offensive-minded head coach during his tenure with the team.