The Bucs are entering their 50th season since first donning the Bucco Bruce helmet and creamsicle uniforms in 1976. So it’s only fitting that Pewter Report unveils its Top 50 All-Time Bucs list.
The Buccaneers asked yours truly, Scott Reynolds, to provide my Top 50 list to the team for their media poll and I’ve decided to release my rankings to you over the next two weeks in the form of 10 articles – each with five Bucs greats. My list contains 25 Super Bowl champions – either from the 2002 or 2020 teams – as well as nine members of the 2025 team.
Top 50 All-Time Bucs: 31-35
Top 50 All-Time Bucs: 36-40
Top 50 All-Time Bucs: 41-45
Top 50 All-Time Bucs: 46-50
So let’s continue with the next five players who make up the Top 50 All-Time Bucs and we’ll finish with the top 5 at the end of this series.
All-Time Bucs: 26-30
No. 26 – C Tony Mayberry
Bucs’ First Pro Bowl Offensive Lineman
While Paul Gruber was considered to be the greatest offensive lineman in Tampa Bay history prior to Tristan Wirfs’ arrival in 2020, Tony Mayberry quietly dominated the NFC from the center position and became the first Bucs O-lineman to make the Pro Bowl. While the NFL snubbed Gruber when it came to Pro Bowls, Mayberry made three straight from 1997-99 and helped Tampa Bay make two playoff appearances, including winning the division in ’99.
The 6-foot-4, 288-pound center was a thinking man’s center and had an incredibly high football I.Q. Mayberry won with incredible technique and leverage rather than brute strength. Yet he helped power the Bucs’ WD-40 backfield of Warrick Dunn and Mike Alstott. In fact, Gene Deckerhoff’s famous radio call “Alstott up the gut!” was a testimony about Mayberry paving the way for the A-Train.
Former Bucs C Tony Mayberry – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR
Drafted in the fourth round from Wake Forest, Mayberry didn’t just beat the odds – he owned the line, starting 145 of the 160 games from 1990-99 that he played for the Bucs. Mayberry took over as the full-time center in 1991 and never missed a start before retiring after the team’s loss to St. Louis in the NFC Championship Game in ‘99.
That kind of iron man dependability set the tone in Tampa’s rebuilding years. His presence stabilized the Bucs’ front, helping the roster evolve from cellar-dwellers into playoff contenders by the late ’90s in the Tony Dungy era and Dunn and Alstott become Pro Bowl runners in the process.
No. 27 – QB Brad Johnson
The Bull Led The Bucs To Franchise’s First Super Bowl Victory
Brad Johnson’s journey began as a backup quarterback in the NFL. Drafted in the ninth round in 1992 out of Florida State by Minnesota, Johnson spent his first five years as a reserve for the Vikings until he got the chance to play for the London Monarchs in 1995 in NFL Europe. There he gained the experience necessary to step in for Warren Moon and get 12 starts in 1996.
After emerging as a starter in 1997, the Vikings acquired Randall Cunningham and traded Johnson to the Redskins. Johnson spent three years in Washington and became a Pro Bowl quarterback for the first time at age 31. He signed a five-year, $28 million deal as a free agent with the Bucs in 2001 at age 33 and helped Tampa Bay win Super Bowl XXXVII a year later.
Former Bucs head coach Jon Gruden and QB Brad Johnson – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR
He rewrote Bucs record books, passing for 3,406 yards on 340 completions with a franchise-best 540 attempts in 2001. But it was 2002 where he left his mark, teaming with new coach Jon Gruden to lead the Buccaneers to their first-ever Lombardi Trophy. He posted a passer rating of 92.9 (tops in the NFC), threw 22 TDs with just six interceptions, and steered them through the postseason to a dominant Super Bowl XXXVII win, passing for 215 yards with two TDs and one INT.
Known as “The Bull” for the grit and toughness he demonstrated by hanging in the pocket to make his downfield throws, Johnson passed for 10,266 yards and 64 touchdowns, earned two Pro Bowl nods (2002, 2003), and twice earned NFC Offensive Player of the Week honors from 2001-04.
Johnson’s career extended to 15 seasons with four teams, passing for 29,054 passing yards and 166 touchdowns with 122 interceptions. But he’s best known for outdueling 2002 NFL MVP Rich Gannon in Super Bowl XXXVII and helping Gruden’s offense put up 27 points in the team’s 48-21 win over Oakland.
Johnson already had plenty of fans in Tampa Bay from his days at FSU, but after helping the Bucs make the playoffs in 2001 and win the Super Bowl the following season, “The Bull” earned legions more.
No. 28 – LB Shelton Quarles
Nearly Three Decades And Counting For Mr. Buccaneer
Shelton Quarles is one of the most underrated Bucs of all-time. And when I say Bucs I don’t mean just as a player. Quarles suited up at linebacker in red and pewter from 1997-2006, but has spent the last two decades working for the team in different capacities, making him one of the longest-tenured employees in team history.
Undrafted out of Vanderbilt in 1994, he spent two seasons in the CFL before signing with Tampa Bay in 1997. Quarles carved a spot first on special teams, then broke into the starting lineup by 1999, logging an impressive 31 special-teams stops that year, which is still a team record. Over a stellar 10-year career (1997–2006), Quarles played in 148 games, with 113 starts.
Former Bucs LB and current senior director of football operations Shelton Quarles – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR
Quarles tallied around 985 tackles, 13 sacks, four interceptions, 28 passes defensed, eight forced fumbles, and eight recoveries. He had four seasons with at least 100 tackles and moved from strongside linebacker to middle linebacker to anchor the Bucs’ Super Bowl defense in 2002. He earned his lone Pro Bowl nod that season, which was well deserved.
Quarles’ career highlight came in 2001 when he recorded a 98-yard pick-six versus Green Bay’s Brett Favre, which is still the longest scoring play in franchise history.
Quarles played on six Bucs playoff teams during his playing days and then seamlessly transitioned into the front office upon retirement. He became a pro scout in 2007 and was promoted to coordinator of pro scouting in 2010 and then director of pro scouting in 2012. Quarles then became the team’s director of football operations in 2014, a post he held until 2025 when he was promoted to senior director of football operations.
Quarles’ journey from undrafted free agent linebacker to front-office architect isn’t over, either. The 53-year old Quarles will soon be celebrating three decades of service in red and pewter.
No. 29 – RB Warrick Dunn
Playmaker With A Purpose In Tampa Bay
Warrick Dunn wasn’t just a spark plug on the field, he was a catalyst who mixed electric playmaking with quiet leadership and impactful charity. Drafted 12th overall in 1997 out of Florida State, Dunn burst on to the scene and won AP Offensive Rookie of the Year honors. Over 12 NFL seasons (1997–2008) split between six years in Tampa Bay (two stints) and six seasons in Atlanta, he was the definition of consistency and versatility.
Dunn was a dual threat for both teams as a runner and a receiver. He ran for 4,986 yards (4.0 avg.) and 19 touchdowns with the Bucs, in addition to catching 306 passes for 2,704 yards (8.8 avg.) and nine touchdowns. He earned two out of his three Pro Bowl nods (1997 and 2000) in Tampa Bay and was a crucial part of the Bucs’ early success, teaming with fullback Mike Alstott to form the vaunted WD-40 backfield.
Bucs legendary RBs Warrick Dunn and Mike Alstott – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR
Dunn ran for nearly 1,000 yards (978) as a rookie and had a pair of 1,000-yard seasons in 1998 and in 2000, including a career-high 210-yard, two-TD outing against Dallas. But Dunn’s impact went way beyond the football field. Off the field, Dunn was just as influential. He won the 2004 Walter Payton Man of the Year, founded the Warrick Dunn Charities (notably “Homes for the Holidays”), and helped more than 200 single-parent families with over $2 million in assistance.
His fallout from a tragic childhood – losing his mother, who was a police officer in Louisiana in 1993 – shaped a legacy of giving back to the community and helping single mothers purchase homes in both Tampa and Atlanta. Dunn finished his 12-year NFL career with a return to Tampa Bay in 2008 at age 33, rushing for 786 yards and catching 47 passes for 330 yards. Dunn had one final 1,000-yard season under Jon Gruden that year but his legacy lives on through his charitable endeavors.
No. 30 – G Davin Joseph
The Rise And Fall Of A Bucs Giant On The O-Line
The Bucs had plenty of misses in the draft during the Jon Gruden-Bruce Allen era, but the biggest draft hit turned out to be right guard Davin Joseph, who was Tampa Bay’s first-round pick in 2006. Joseph was an instant success, starting 12 of 13 games as a rookie and quickly becoming one of the most dominant guards in franchise history.
Over seven seasons in Tampa Bay, Joseph played in 100 games with 99 starts. He earned Pro Bowl honors twice – in 2008 and 2011– becoming the only guard in Bucs history to earn that distinction twice. The 6-foot-3, 313-pound Oklahoma product was an imposing run-blocker with massive, powerful hands that moved the line of scrimmage. Joseph was a team captain, linchpin and locker room leader.
Former Bucs G Davin Joseph – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR
In 2011, he signed a huge, seven-year, $53 million deal with $19 million guaranteed, which was one of the richest contracts for an NFL guard at the time. Unfortunately disaster struck in the 2012 preseason following his second Pro Bowl season when he suffered a devastating knee injury that would cost him the entire year.
Joseph returned to action in 2013 at age 30 and started all 16 games, but wasn’t quite the same. The Bucs released him the following year and he played one final season in St. Louis before retiring. Joseph’s impact was also missed off the field, as he earned two consecutive Bucs Man of the Year awards (2011–12), launched his Davin Joseph Foundation and spearheaded programs like “Turkey Time” and NFL-United Way’s Live United, recruiting nearly 4,000 volunteers.
Joseph likely had a few more Pro Bowls in his future had he not suffered his significant knee injury. Still, his incredibly high level of play has earned him the distinction of being the second-best guard in team history behind Ali Marpet.
