Bucs Name Captains For 2023

The Bucs revealed the team’s captains for the 2023 season. Most of the Bucs’ selections have been captains before in previous years, but the retirement of quarterback Tom Brady, who was a three-time captain in Tampa Bay from 2020-22, opened up one vacancy on offense.

It makes sense for a starting quarterback to be one of the team’s captains, and that is what happened when Brady came to the Bucs in 2020 at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Brady got to know his teammates through his own personal organized workouts over the summer even though there wasn’t OTAs to attend. Undoubtedly Brady’s reputation for being the greatest quarterback of all time preceded him and he was an easy choice for team captain.

The fact that the Bucs named Baker Mayfield the starting quarterback is no surprise given his stellar play during the team’s 3-1 start. Mayfield began exhibiting great leadership qualities since the day he arrived in Tampa in free agency. That was apparent from the initial OTAs through the mandatory mini-camp and training camp through the start of the regular season.

Mayfield has natural leadership ability, a trait he’s exhibited since his days at Oklahoma when he won the Heisman Trophy and went on to be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft by Cleveland. He spent a great deal of time bonding with teammates during the offseason whether it was attending their charity events or dinners or golf outings. So it comes as no surprise that Mayfield will not only be replacing Brady as the team’s starting quarterback, but also as a team captain as well.

Bucs Have 4 Captains On Offense

Joining Baker Mayfield as an offensive captain is long-time captain Mike Evans. The Bucs’ leading receiver enters his seventh year with a “C” on his chest as the team’s longest-tenured player on offense. The 30-year old Evans has become a more vocal leader in recent years, but is still one of the best lead-by-example players there is. Everybody wants to be like Mike, a future Hall of Famer.

Bucs WR Chris Godwin – Photo by: USA Today

The Bucs have another first-time captain on offense as fellow wide receiver Chris Godwin. The seven-year veteran is the highest-paid player on offense, earning $20 million per season. His status within the team has also been elevated this offseason with his inclusion in the Bucs’ creamsicle uniform reveal video, as well as being one of four Bucs players featured on the murals at Raymond James Stadium, joining fellow receiver Mike Evans.

The final captain on offense is left tackle Tristan Wirfs, another first-time captain. With two Pro Bowls and an All-Pro berth under his belt, Wirfs is arguably the most talented player on the Bucs roster. He’s been a rock-solid force at right tackle and is now moving to left tackle this season to replace Donovan Smith.

In a Tristan Wirfs Camp Diary for Pewter Report back in August, the Bucs’ 2020 first-rounder reveals that he would actually like to be a team captain this year, replacing Tom Brady in that role.

“I would absolutely love to be a team captain,” Wirfs said. “I was never a team captain in college. I’ve always wanted to be a team captain – that guy, especially in college – it’s always a legacy thing for the seniors. Here I’m trying to step up into more of a leadership role where guys can lean on me. If I have to get guys going I’ll get them going.

“These past three years I’ve shown up and did my job. But in conversations I’ve had, people have wanted me to step up more. So I’m ready to be here for whoever needs me in whatever role they need me to be. I want to help all these guys win ball games and be here for them.”

Bucs Have 4 Captains On Defense

On the defensive side of the ball, legendary linebacker Lavonte David, who returns for his 12th season in Tampa Bay, was a given. David has been a captain in Tampa Bay for a decade now and is the elder statesman on the Bucs roster. At age 33 he’s the oldest Buccaneer this year, as well as being one of the most well respected players.

Bucs ILB Devin White and FS Antoine Winfield, Jr. – Photo by: USA Today

Fellow inside linebacker Devin White remains a team captain, which is something he has been since 2020, his second year in Tampa Bay. But a holdout this offseason during a contract dispute, in addition to a trade request, might have put captain role in jeopardy. Yet White showed up for training camp and resumed his leadership role and ingratiated himself back into the team. His teammates rewarded him by naming White a captain for a third straight season, which was something he was aiming for in training camp.

“I want to be a captain again, that was one thing that was hard,” White said. “Sitting out was hard, and I wasn’t really sitting out because I still came in a building, because I want to be here. But at the end of the day, man, that’s over with. I’m on the field going hard, and I’m embraced by all the guys. I’m out there working and making them better and they [are] making me better.”

Nose tackle Vita Vea made his first Pro Bowl in 2021 and his elevated stature was rewarded the following year when the Bucs players voted him as a first-time team captain for the 2022 season. Vea gets a second year as a team captain after leading Tampa Bay with a career-high 6.5 sacks last year. Vea is also one of four Bucs players on the murals outside of Raymond James Stadium, along with linebacker Lavonte David and receivers Mike Evans and Chris Godwin.

The Bucs had three defensive team captains last year with White, David and Vea and all three enter the 2023 season in that same leadership role with a “C” on their chests. Now they have four with the selection of playmaking safety Antoine Winfield Jr.

Winfield wanted to crack the captain lineup this year. To his credit, Winfield was one of four players the team chose to appear in the Bucs’ creamsicle uniform reveal video although he did not make the mural at Raymond James Stadium.

While not directly campaigning for a captain role, Winfield spoke about stepping up more as a leader this season as he enters a pivotal contract year.

“Yeah, a hundred percent,” Winfield said. “You know, the more years you get in this league, you kind of step into that role. So, my goal is, to you, know make everybody around be better and just encourage everybody and make sure I am bringing them up to the same level as I am.”

In the past, the Bucs have had a special teams captain or two, although that was not the case last season or this year. Former punter Bradley Pinion and former linebacker Kevin Minter were team captains on special teams in 2021.