The No.51 shirt Some of the better linebackers in Buc history have owned this number during the 30-year run of the franchise, although the first owner, Dan Ryczek, was a center. He started 21 of the first 25 games in Tampa Bay annals before giving way to Steve Wilson. Dana Nafziger was a special teams' demon who also played some tight end during his rookie season in 1977 but the main owner in the orange and white days was Broderick Thomas. "The Sandman" as he was known, was related to Mike Singletary and a former first round pick who never really lived up to his high draft position during his time in Tampa Bay. Both Lonnie Marts and Al Singleton had their moments in Buccaneer colours with the latter wearing the number in the Super Bowl before moving on to the Cowboys. Barrett Ruud is of course the name most associated with the number for recent Buccaneer fans. His six- year tenure in Tampa Bay saw him either a fan favourite or boo-bird target but either way he did enough in Buc colours to win the best-ever award for the 51 jersey. Jacob Cutrera owned the number but was nothing more than a special teamer in 2011 and 2012 and it was also worn by Danny Lansanah who came seemingly out of nowhere to start games at all three linebacker positions during 2014. Kendell Beckwith took over the jersey as a rookie in 2017 and had a nice first season starting before an off-season car accident pretty much ended his career before it had truly gotten going. Kevin Minter was a decent back-up at both inside linebacker spots as well as being a special teams captain. BEST EVER TO WEAR No.51 FOR THE BUCCANEERS - BARRETT RUUD

Click on the player's name for their profile page, Buccaneer stats and picture galleries Years Player Pos 1976-77 Dan Ryczek C 1978-82 Dana Nafziger LB 1983 Ed Judie LB 1984-88 Chris Washington LB 1987 Miles Turpin LB 1989-93 Broderick Thomas LB 1995-96 Lonnie Marts LB 1997-02 Al Singleton LB 2004 Keith Burns LB 2005-10 Barrett Ruud LB 2011-12 Jacob Cutrera LB 2013-15 Danny Lansanah LB 2016 Daryl Smith LB 2017 Kendell Beckwith LB 2019-21 Kevin Minter LB 2022- JJ Russell LB