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BY IRA KAUFMAN
In honor of a half-century of Buccaneer football, I’m counting down the Top 50 players in franchise history, based solely on their accomplishments with the franchise. This week, we continue at No. 45.
No. 50 – Mark Cotney
No. 49 – Mike Washington
No. 48 – Richard “Batman” Wood
No. 47 – Aqib Talib
No. 46 – Ricky Reynolds
45. Keyshawn Johnson
The No. 1 overall pick in the 1996 Draft by the Jets, Johnson was one of the top offensive threats during Tampa Bay’s 2002 championship season. He ranks seventh on the Buc career list in receptions and No. 8 in receiving yards. Johnson was traded to the Bucs in 2000 for a pair of first-round draft choices. He caught 106 passes in 2001, which is still a franchise single-season record. In the 2002 postseason, Johnson caught 14 passes for 194 yards, including a 9-yard TD reception late in the opening half at Philadelphia in the NFC championship game.
The late Ricky Bell.
44. Ricky Bell
Bucs head coach John McKay was very familiar with Bell as his top running back at Southern Cal, so Bell was selected with the top overall pick in the 1977 draft. He didn’t make much noise his first two pro seasons but emerged as a standout in 1979 as the Bucs reached the conference title game in only the fourth year of the franchise. Bell carried 283 times for 1,263 yards and seven scores during the ’79 regular season as Tampa Bay went 10-6 and won the NFC Central. In the inaugural playoff game in franchise history, Bell led the Bucs past the favored Eagles 24-17, carrying 38 times for 142 yards and two TDs. He died of heart failure in 1984 at the age of 29.
43. Vincent Jackson
Signed as a free agent in 2012, Jackson still ranks fifth on the Bucs in career receiving yards. He topped 1,000 yards and caught at least 70 passes in each of his first three seasons with Tampa Bay. In a 2012 game against New Orleans, Jackson hauled in a 95-yard reception from Josh Freeman that still stands as the longest catch in Buc annals. His 216 receiving yards that afternoon also remain a single-game franchise record. When Jackson died in 2021, his family donated his brain to Boston University’s CTE Center.
42. Mark Carrier
The Bucs chose Carrier out of Nicholls State in the third round of the 1987 draft, 56 picks after selecting Vinny Testaverde with the first overall choice. He played six years with Tampa Bay and ranks No. 4 in career receptions, third in career receiving yards and seventh in career receiving TDs. Carrier earned Pro Bowl honors in 1989, catching 86 passes for 1,422 yards and nine scores. He is currently the player engagement director for the Buffalo Bills.
41. Donnie Abraham
Abraham played six seasons for the Bucs, who drafted him in the third round out of East Tennessee State in 1996, Tony Dungy’s first year as head coach. His 31 career interceptions rank No. 2 on the franchise list behind only Rondé Barber. From 1999-01, his last three seasons as a Buccaneer, Abraham picked off 20 passes. He made the Pro Bowl in 2000 after registering seven interceptions and 23 passes defended. After the 1997 Bucs beat the Lions in an opening-round playoff game, Abraham picked off two Brett Favre passes at Lambeau Field during a 21-7 loss to the Packers.