Lost At Sea: Forgotten Bucs RBs

When fans think of the Buccaneers, most, if not all, recall the Super Bowl-winning teams of 2002 and 2020. Anytime before that is generally seen as a dark era of Bucs football filled with a lot of losing seasons. Even with that caveat, plenty of players shined with impressive years and stints. Players that are largely forgotten in the minds of fans, apart from the most ardent and hardcore supporters.

For this series, I wanted to take a look at players who are underrated or not mentioned much when discussing the team’s history. The number of players mentioned in each entry will vary based on position.

The only rules are that they were Bucs between 1976 to 1996 – fitting the prerequisite of rocking the original “Bucco Bruce” uniforms – and are worth remembering.

Quarterbacks

Overview:

The 1980s and 1990s were filled with some of the best running backs in NFL history. Walter Payton. Barry Sanders. Emmitt Smith. Each carried the football – and their teams – to plenty of success as they became synonymous with their team’s identity.

The Bucs had their chance to have their own elite running back in 1986, selecting Auburn’s Bo Jackson first overall. He would never play for the team, however, after telling owner Hugh Culverhouse not to draft him. In one of the biggest what-ifs in NFL history, had he chosen to play in Tampa Bay and not suffered his career-ending hip injury with the Raiders, his name could have been mentioned alongside the greatest backs of all time.

Regardless, a few running backs were able to put together stints with the Bucs that are worth looking back on.

Forgotten Bucs At RB 

1. Ricky Bell

The 1979 season was the closest the Buccaneers would reach the Super Bowl until 1999, when they played the St. Louis Rams and lost to the “Greatest Show on Turf.” Early in the franchise’s inception, a few players were key to the newfound success. That list included Hall of Fame defensive end Lee Roy Selmon, quarterback Doug Williams, tight end Jimmie Giles, cornerback Cedric Brown, defensive tackle Dave Lewis, and defensive back Mike Washington.

But the late Ricky Bell, the team’s starting running back that season, was just as key as they were in leading the team to the playoffs. His career year came at the right time, as he had 1,263 yards on 283 carries (4.5 yards per attempt) with seven rushing touchdowns in 1979.

It was almost fate that Bell would end up a Buccaneer. Head coach John McKay coached him at USC earlier in the 1970s, where Bell emerged as one of the best college players. He finished in the top three in Heisman voting twice (third in 1975, second in 1976) with eye-popping numbers.

In 1975, Bell had 1,957 rushing yards in 12 games for the Trojans, followed up with 1,433 yards on 105 fewer carries the next season. It was no surprise that after leaving USC, McKay took his former star back with the first overall pick in the 1977 NFL Draft.

Serving as the team’s fullback, Bell came along slowly in his first two seasons before starring in 1979. In the first playoff game, he ran 38 times for 142 yards and two touchdowns in a 24-17 win over the Eagles. His production tapered in the following playoff game and in the two seasons that followed.

Bell would be traded to the Chargers in 1982, but sadly his decline was health-related, as he began to suffer extreme weight loss connected with a rare skin issue. Only two years later, in 1984, he passed away from heart failure at just 29 years old.

It is worth remembering the times he did have on the field as a Buccaneer and recognizing what he accomplished. As John McKay put it at the time of his passing, “Ricky Bell was one of the finest football players I’ve ever had the pleasure of coaching.”

2. James Wilder

Ricky Bell and James Wilder overlapped for one season, and Wilder helped carry the torch of production into the 1980s. Many fans know of Wilder and his impact on the mid-1980s Buccaneers. So why does he make the list of being forgotten, you might ask?

Well, for being the greatest running back in the team’s history, his legacy has not been recognized fully. During his career, Tampa Bay had little on-field success with him as the starter – and despite having numerous team rushing records, he has yet to be inducted into the team’s Ring of Honor. He has the chance to be the next inductee, but it would be long overdue.

Entering the league as a second-round pick in 1981, James Wilder would spend a total of nine years in Tampa Bay. The 1984 and 1985 seasons were his biggest in terms of production as the focal point of the offense. Between those two seasons, he amassed 772 carries and caught 138 passes. He was not only the number one back, but often the number one receiver as well.

He set the franchise record for most rushing yards in a season in 1984 with 1,544 with 685 yards receiving. Even in modern times, few players can accumulate the 2,229 scrimmage yards he had that year.

At 6-foot-3, 225 pounds, James Wilder was one tough player to bring down. Don’t just take my word for it. Both Hall of Fame head coach Bill Parcells and linebacker Lawrence Taylor discussed him being one of the toughest players to play against.

“Best I played against,” Taylor said back in 2013. “Four quarters of hitting that boy, aww gosh! He didn’t run very fast – he ran about a 4.6 – but by the time he got to the line, he was doing a 4.6. And guess what? In the fourth quarter, he’s doing 4.6. He’s built like a brick … house. When you hit him, I tell you, everything hurts. He was a beast.”

While he never played a full season’s worth of games after 1985, he still finished his career with 5,957 rushing yards, still ranking first over 30 years later.

It is worth a trip down memory lane watching this highlight reel of him brushing off would-be tacklers and finding the endzone.

3. Errict Rhett

After James Wilder’s “run” in the backfield and a couple of seasons from the late Reggie Cobb, Errict Rhett joined the team in 1994 as a second-round pick in the same draft class as quarterback Trent Dilfer.

He was perhaps destined to be a Florida football legend, as he spent five seasons with the Florida Gators – following Emmitt Smith, no less – and had a college career filled with plenty of production. He finished as the all-time leading rusher for the Gators with 4,163 rushing yards.

In his first two seasons, Rhett was well on his way to having a productive NFL career as well. He ended his first season with 1,011 rushing yards and seven touchdowns, finishing second in the Offensive Rookie of the Year voting to Marshall Faulk. Rhett’s biggest game was in Week 13 against the Redskins that year, as he had 40 carries for 192 yards and a touchdown.

He followed that up with an even better 1995 season, setting career highs across the board with 332 carries, 1,211 rushing yards, and 11 touchdowns.

So, why did he only play two more years with the Bucs and retire at the age of 30? His contract holdout in 1996 played a big part.

After holding out for the first six games in 1996, Rhett returned to the team but only averaged 3.1 yards per carry. The following year, he slid down the depth chart behind young backs Warrick Dunn and Mike Alstott, only having 11 carries.

He then would be traded to the Ravens in 1998, playing three more seasons before being waived by the Browns before the 2001 season. Gators fans may recognize his name more than Bucs fans, but there was a brief time when Errict Rhett was a workhorse in Tampa Bay.