Lost At Sea: Forgotten Bucs LBs

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 

Running Backs

Wide Receivers

Tight Ends

Offensive Linemen

Defensive Linemen

Overview:

In looking over the linebacker position throughout the Bucs’ history, there has been a high standard of play. Of course, when first thinking of the position, Derrick Brooks and Lavonte David first come to mind as tackling machines at inside linebacker.

Before Brooks, it was Hardy Nickerson who served as his veteran mentor while also being an All-Pro level player into his mid-30s. It is also worth noting Shaq Barrett and the 40.5 sacks he has tallied at outside linebacker so far in Tampa Bay.

But who roamed the field before them? What names are not discussed often when thinking of some of the best linebackers in team history?

Digging through the archives, there are few who had big seasons, solid tenures, and one-of-a-kind stories.

Forgotten Bucs At LB

1. Richard Wood

Richard Wood did not enter the NFL as a Buccaneer, but he played on the inaugural team in 1976 and nine seasons in total. Drafted by the Jets in the third round in 1975, Wood did not fit in with them and was traded to the Bucs at just the cost of a seventh-round pick. This reunited him with John McKay, his college coach at USC.

Wood fit right in wearing No. 54, a prerequisite for being a prominent Bucs linebacker. He immediately became a starter, and he was a captain on the 1979 and 1982 playoff teams. With the nickname “Batman” for how he wore his eye black back in his college days, he was always a bat signal away from making a tackle.

He led the team in that regard in three of the franchise’s first four seasons, his highest total being 168 in 1978. In total, he recorded 855 tackles with the Bucs, a total that still ranks in the top 10 in team history.

He caught up with Buccaneers writer Scott Smith in 2016 to discuss his career and life after football.

2. Dewey Selmon

That last name should look quite familiar to any Bucs fan. What younger fans may not know is that Lee Roy Selmon had an older brother who was also a teammate for his first five seasons.

That was Dewey Selmon, who was taken in the second round, a round after Lee Roy was the first overall pick and first draft pick in Bucs history in 1976.

After starting off as a defensive lineman, Dewey Selmon moved to linebacker after it was evident that he was too small (6-1, 246) to play there full-time. That turned out to be the right decision, as in 1977 he led the team with 167 total tackles. While his younger brother stole the spotlight, Dewey Selmon was not just a role player. He earned second-team All-Pro honors in 1979 and served as a starter through 1980.

After not re-signing with the team for the 1981 season, Selmon appeared in just five more NFL games with the Chargers in 1982. Despite his solid play and being the brother of one of the most iconic Buccaneers of all time, Dewey Selmon is largely forgotten.

3. Dave Lewis

Dave Lewis and Richard Wood were tied together much like how cornerbacks Carlton Davis and Jamel Dean are on the current Bucs roster. Both Lewis and Wood played together at USC under John McKay and landed with the Bucs a year apart. After being a second-round pick in 1977, Lewis immediately served as a starter and key contributor.

He had 96 tackles in his rookie year and followed that up with three consecutive seasons having 100 or more tackles. His play earned him a Pro Bowl nod in 1980.

On the 1979 team that reached the championship game, Lewis, alongside Wood and Cecil Johnson, formed what was a stout linebacking core on a stifling defense also featuring Lee Roy Selmon, Cedric Brown, Mike Washington, and others.

After his NFL career ended in 1983, Lewis went on to serve as the head coach at Tampa Catholic High from 1986-1990. He remained in the Tampa area up until he passed away in 2020.

4. Hugh Green

When Hugh Green left the Pittsburgh Panthers out of college to enter the 1981 NFL Draft, he did so as one of the most dominant defensive players in college football history. Playing on the same team as Hall of Fame quarterback Dan Marino at the time, Green made just as many — if not more — highlight plays.

Former Bucs LB Hugh Green – Photo by: USA Today

He finished his college career with mind-boggling numbers. Green recorded 460 total tackles, 49 sacks, and 24 forced fumbles in just 48 games. To demonstrate how much of an impact he left on the program, his number was retired at his final home game during the 1980 season, a year in which he was runner-up for the Heisman trophy to running back George Rogers.

All of this is the backdrop to becoming a Buccaneer. He was selected with the seventh overall pick in 1981 and began his career by hitting the ground running. He was named an All-Pro in 1982 and 1983 for his work as an outside linebacker. In 1983, he had two pick-sixes, demonstrating his knack for making big plays. As head coach John McKay quipped back in the day, Green’s only weakness was that “He’s not twins.”

Despite having a legendary collegiate career and a promising beginning in the NFL, what happened to Hugh Green? In 1984, he only played in eight games after getting into a car crash in the middle of the season.

After playing for the Bucs for five games in 1985, he was traded to the Dolphins for first and second-round picks, reuniting with Marino. Green would play through the 1991 season and was a solid player, but not the dominant one that garnered so much fanfare entering the league.

5. Broderick Thomas

Broderick Thomas is the best example of an anomaly on this list. Thomas was taken by the Bucs with the sixth overall pick in the 1989 NFL Draft and spent the first five years of his career with the team. While he was pretty average throughout his tenure, his 1991 season is definitely something worth chronicling.

Thomas wore No. 51 as a promise to do one better than his uncle Mike Singletary, the Hall of Fame Bears linebacker who wore No. 50. For one season, he did.

He was the brightest spot on a team that finished 3-13 in 1991, and two numbers really jumped out when looking at his statistics. Thomas had 174 total tackles and seven forced fumbles, serving as a one-man wrecking crew. There are not many highlights of Thomas on the internet, but this brief video looks at some of his bigger plays and the bright future that was ahead of the then-24-year-old.

Unfortunately for the Bucs, Thomas, who was nicknamed “The Sandman,” was just a one-hit wonder. After hiring Sam Wyche as head coach in 1992, Thomas’ production decreased after being asked to play in coverage more in Wyche’s 3-4 defense as opposed to the 4-3 scheme he dominated in. He also showed up out of shape prior to the season. After one more year in Tampa Bay, Thomas left to play for the Lions in 1994 and spent time with the Vikings and Cowboys before being out of the league at 30.

While his success lasted for just a season, what a season it was.