The No.50 shirt
Of the 17 players to have worn this number for the Buccaneers,
nearly all centers and linebackers, two have held the jersey for the best
part of a decade each.
Jeff Gooch, was with the Bucs since making Tony Dungy's first team as an undrafted
free agent and after some time away, returned for a final year leading the special
teams' squads.
But the main holder of the jersey, Steve Wilson, was one of the original Bucs and only
switched to No.50 from his original No.79 before the start of the division-winning 1979 season.
Sadly Dan Turk, is no longer with us, and most of the other owners were one-season wonders at best
including Chuck Pitcock who was the replacement team center in 1987 until Turk crossed the picket line to
play the final game for that unit.
Four of the most recent owners Jamie Winborn, Jeremiah Trotter, Matt McCoy and Tyrone McKenzie have
been nothing more than back-up linebackers and occasional special teams' members and the late Daniel
Te'o-Nesheim only became a starter in 2012 because of injury to Adrian Clayborn.
Bruce Carter took over the jersey in 2015 having been a big-money free agent signing but he only started
three games that season and was then released the following off-season.
2018 first round pick Vita Vea took over the number as a rookie and has quickly proven to be an excellent
pick for the middle of the defensive line and is getting close to taking the best-ever title away from Steve.
BEST EVER TO WEAR No.50 FOR THE BUCCANEERS - STEVE WILSON
Click on the player's name for their profile
page, Buccaneer stats and picture galleries
Years
Player
Pos
1976
Tim Kearney
LB
1979-85
Steve Wilson
C
1987-88
Dan Turk
C
1987
Chuck Pitcock
C
1992
Sidney Coleman
LB
1992
EJ Junior
LB
1993
Reggie Burnette
LB
1996-01, 4
Jeff Gooch
LB
2006
Jamie Winborn
LB
2007
Jeremiah Trotter
LB
2008-09
Matt McCoy
LB
2010
Tyrone McKenzie
LB
2011-13
Daniel Te'o-Nesheim
DE
2014
Dane Fletcher
LB
2015
Bruce Carter
LB
2016
Josh Keyes
LB
2018-
Vita Vea
DT