It’s the off-season, which gives a perfect opportunity to compare numbers and rate the best players. On June 19, NFL analysts Aaron Schatz and Seth Walder decided to compile the 53-man roster from the last 25 years. For the Buccaneers, it was a proud achievement day as Lavonte David and his 6 teammates were featured on the list. Its greatness spread around the Raymond James Stadium.
Tom Brady didn’t just play quarterback, he redefined how long greatness could last. Three MVPs, seven rings, and nearly 90,000 passing yards say enough. But zoom in on 2020–22 in Tampa, and you find one of the NFL’s sharpest late-career turns. Brady tossed 40+ TDs in back-to-back seasons and gave the Bucs their first Super Bowl win in nearly two decades. The GOAT proved his greatness didn’t fade. It aged like dominance.
His partner in controlled chaos, Rob Gronkowski, added just two seasons in the Bucs, but made them count. Four-time All-Pro and SB champ. His 2020 Super Bowl showing (two TDs) was a clinic in chemistry and matchup mastery. Gronk’s 2011 remains the holy grail for tight ends, 18 touchdowns, elite blocking, and unmatched versatility. Another person helped them achieve greatness.
Lavonte David’s offensive teammate, WR Julio Jones, had only a brief Bucs stint in 2022, but his resume stretches far beyond Tampa. No receiver this century has topped his peak yardage stretch, 5,141 yards over his best three seasons. That’s generational stuff. While his Bucs numbers were modest, his presence carried weight.
Even if Jones and Gronk were past their peaks in Tampa, their impact wasn’t performative, it was legacy-building. They added texture to the Brady era, brought championship experience, and raised the floor in moments that mattered. You build teams with stars. But you win because of the right ones. Tampa had them.
In totality, the Buccaneers’s offensive legacy over the past 25 years reads like a masterclass in elite additions. These weren’t just big names, they were big-game players.
Lavonte David and his teammate wrote the book on toughness
Linebacker Lavonte David is the quiet killer of modern defense. With 39 sacks, 31 forced fumbles, 13 interceptions, and a Super Bowl ring, he’s got the stats. But he also got the snub of the era, with only two Pro Bowls. He didn’t chase the spotlight. He chased ball carriers and caught them every time. But he didn’t do it alone. His teammates also supported him.
CB Ronde Barber was the pulse of the original Buccaneers. His 43 picks and 292 defeats lead all DBs since 2000. His 477 run stops are the best among defensive backs in the same stretch. He was predictive. He moved like he had already read the coordinator’s call sheet.
ESPN released its All Quarter Century Team, and included seven players who played for the Buccaneers:
QB Tom Brady
WR Julio Jones
TE Rob Gronkowski
LB Lavonte David
CB Darrelle Revis
CB Ronde Barber
CB Richard Sherman
Which Bucs got snubbed? … pic.twitter.com/1gKS6S1TYC
— SleeperBucs (@SleeperTBBUCS) June 19, 2025
Another cornerback, Darrelle Revis, though most famously a Jet, had a 2013 stop in Tampa that’s often forgotten. It was post-ACL, mid-rebuild. But even then, receivers vanished into Revis Island. His NFL-record 31 defended passes in 2009 and his surgical dismantling of WR1s remains legendary.
The 7th Bucs legend selected was Richard Sherman, who brought more leadership than production to Tampa in 2021. But the resume speaks loudly, 37 interceptions, five All-Pro seasons, and a permanent seat in the Legion of Boom hall. Sherman didn’t invent swagger, but he weaponized it. His brief stint with the Bucs was more symbolic than statistical, part of a culture shift that still echoed from their 2020 title run.
Each made his name not just by numbers, but by controlling the flow of games. And sometimes, entire eras.
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