QBs Drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Since 2000
The NFL Draft is an event of hope and optimism, a struggling team can turn into perennial Super Bowl favorites in the NFL sportsbook, and it all starts with the quarterback. The NFL QB might be the most challenging position in sports. Teams will try for years to draft a franchise quarterback. Sometimes it comes in the first round, or even in the sixth round, in the case of Tom Brady. In this series, we will look at the QB draft history of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the 21st century and see how the pick’s career in the NFL turned out.
The Bucs have been on both sides of the draft board, they have won two Super Bowls since 2000, but they have also been one of the worst teams in the NFL and drafted in the top five. With Brady as the starting quarterback, Tampa Bay has the best quarterback of all time, but how long will he keep playing?
Joe Hamilton (2000)
Taken in the seventh round, Georgia Tech’s Joe Hamilton was the first QB the Bucs chose in the new millennium. Hamilton spent three seasons with Tampa Bay but only played four snaps in one game in his NFL career.
Hamilton played for the NFL Europe’s Frankfurt Galaxy in 2002. He led the team to a 5-2 record before tearing his ACL mid-season. He then spent the entire 2002 NFL season on the injured reserve and was released by the Bucs at the end of the year. Hamilton did receive a Super Bowl ring for Tampa Bay’s Super Bowl XXXVII victory.
The Indianapolis Colts signed Hamilton in 2004 but released him after NFL Week Three. Hamilton managed to have a short but successful career in the Arena Football League as part of the Orlando Predators. In 2006, he led the indoor team to ArenaBowl XX, losing 69-61. Had he won, Hamilton would have been the first player in history to win a Super Bowl and ArenaBowl ring.
Chris Simms (2003)
Son of Super Bowl MVP Phil Simms, Texas quarterback Chris Simms was a third-round draft pick by the Bucs. Simms was expected to become the successor to Brad Johnson. The rookie did not play a single snap in the 2003 NFL regular season. In 2004, he came in during the Buc’s NFL Week Two game and went 21 for
32 for 175 yards and an interception. Two games later, after an 0-4 start, Johnson was benched, and Simms made his first NFL start against the New Orleans Saints. He completed five of his eight attempts but suffered a shoulder injury, and Brian Griese took over as the starter. Simms came back healthy but did not start again until the season finale, where he threw 224 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions.
Simms was slated as the backup QB to Griese for the 2005 season, but a season-ending leg injury to Griese vaulted Simms into the starting role for the remainder of the year. He finished the season with solid numbers, going 7-4 with 2,035 passing yards, ten touchdowns, and seven interceptions. The Buccaneers made their first playoff appearance since their Super Bowl victory in 2002, but Tampa Bay lost 17-10 to the Washington Redskins.
Simms was the starter for 2006 but had started the season 0-2 when he was injured in NFL Week three against the Carolina Panthers. He returned to throw his first touchdown pass of the season and gave the Bucs the lead. Carolina would come back and win, and Simms was rushed to a nearby hospital after the game. Tests showed that he ruptured his spleen and immediately underwent surgery. Simms claims he lost five pints of blood that day and, had he went untreated for much longer, he would have died. Needless to say, Simms was out the remainder of the season.
Tampa Bay signed Simms to a two-year extension, and the legacy was expected to be the starter. Unfortunately, Simms was experiencing complications with his recovery, so it was decided that he would serve as a backup to Jeff Garcia. In October 2007, Simms was placed on the injured reserve, and his season was done. Tampa Bay released Simms in August 2008. He stuck around the league, spending time with the Tennessee Titans and Denver Broncos until his retirement in 2010.
Similar to his father, Simms has had a successful career post-NFL in broadcasting. He has been an NFL analyst for Bleacher Report, CBS, and NBC.
Bruce Gradkowski (2006)
The Bucs drafted Toledo QB Bruce Gradkowski in the sixth round, and he had a lengthy career as a journeyman quarterback. After the Simms injury, Gradkowski started 11 games for Tampa Bay during his rookie season, going 3-8 and throwing for 1,661 yards with nine touchdowns and nine interceptions.
Gradkowski appeared in four games in 2007 but never started. He completed 13 of his 24 passes for 130 yards and an interception. The Buccaneers waived him in May 2008. The St. Louis Rams picked him off waivers but cut him right before the regular season.
The Cleveland Browns signed Gradkowski as their fourth-string quarterback, and he started the Browns’ 2008 season finale before he was waived in the offseason.
The Oakland Raiders then claimed Gradkowski and the QB started eight games for the Raiders in his two seasons on the team. Gradkowski would suffer a plethora of injuries while in Oakland, tearing his pectoral muscle while lifting weights, sustaining MCL damage to both knees and separating his throwing shoulder.
Gradkowski then signed a two-year deal with the Cincinnati Bengals but spent most of those years as a backup to Andy Dalton. In 2013, he signed with the hometown Pittsburgh Steelers and spent the last four years of his career as a backup in Pittsburgh. In October 2016, he was released, bringing his NFL career to an end.
Josh Johnson (2008)
The Bucs have a knack for drafting late-round journeyman quarterbacks as they took the University of San Diego QB Josh Johnson in the 2008 NFL draft. Johnson has been on 13 different NFL teams, including multiple stints with the San Francisco 49ers and the Cincinnati Bengals. Johnson has only made eight career starts despite his long and winding road in the NFL, four of them with the Bucs in 2009. He did not get his first NFL win until 2018 as a member of the Was
Johnson signed with the 49ers for the third time in 2020 and was placed on the practice squad. In June 2021, he was released and is now a free agent.hington Redskins.
Josh Freeman (2009)
Josh Freeman was the 17th overall pick in the 2009 NFL draft, and many expected him to be the quarterback of the future for Tampa Bay. Freeman had high expectations placed on him coming out of Kansas State, but unfortunately, he couldn’t live up to them. He started nine games his rookie season, going 3-6 with 1,855 yards, ten touchdowns, and 18 interceptions.
Freeman became the full-time starter for Tampa Bay in 2010 and had a fantastic season. The Bucs went 10-6, while Freeman threw for 3,451 yards, 25 touchdowns, and six interceptions. He would continue to put up good numbers the following two seasons, with 2012 being his best, throwing 4,065 yards and 27 touchdowns. It was all for not, as Tampa Bay was 11-20 in those two years.
After an 0-3 start, the Bucs benched Freeman in 2013. Tampa Bay tried to trade Freeman but was unsuccessful, so they cut him, and Freeman finished the 2013 season with the Minnesota Vikings, losing in his only start of the year. 2015 was Freeman’s last year in the NFL as he signed with the Indianapolis Colts and lost the only game he started for that team.
Mike Glennon (2013)
Another journeyman QB selection by the Bucs was North Carolina State’s Mike Glennon, taken in the third round of the 2013 NFL draft. Glennon took over for Freeman in his rookie season and started the 13 games. He went 4-9 but did throw for 2,608 yards with 19 touchdowns and nine interceptions
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Lovie Smith became the new head coach of the Bucs in 2014, and he announced that Josh McCown would be the starting QB for the season. Glennon started five games that year due to a McCown injury and went 1-4 during that time. Tampa Bay finished the season 2-14 and earned the number one overall pick in the 2015 NFL Draft.
Glennon did not see significant playing time until 2017 with the Chicago Bears, where he went 1-3 in his four starts and threw four touchdowns to go along with five interceptions. Glennon then spent time as a backup for the Arizona Cardinals, the Oakland Raiders, and then the Jacksonville Jaguars. As a starter for the Jags, Glennon was 0-5 in 2020.
In March 2021, Glennon signed a one-year, $1.35 million contract with the New York Giants as a backup to Daniel Jones.
Jameis Winston (2015)
The Bucs selected Florida State QB with the number one overall pick in the 2015 NFL Draft. Winston holds multiple Buccaneers franchise records despite playing only five seasons in Tampa Bay. Even though Winston was a great fantasy football player, putting up dazzling numbers, his leadership was questioned as his team struggled to win games, going 28-42 during his Tampa Bay tenure.
Winston was named to the Pro Bowl his rookie season, throwing 4,042 yards with 22 touchdowns to 15 interceptions. The issues between Winston and Tampa Bay began in 2018 when the quarterback was suspended for three games for allegedly groping a female Uber driver. He returned to the team but was the backup to Ryan Fitzpatrick. Both quarterbacks rotated as the starter during the season, constantly being benched for poor play. Winston played in 11 games in 2018 and started nine of them.
The former FSU Seminole made history in 2019, becoming the first QB in NFL history to throw 30 touchdowns and 30 interceptions. He led the league in interceptions, pass attempts (626), and yards (5,109). The arm talent is there with Winston, but his decision-making was in serious question. Winston did not re-sign with Tampa Bay. Instead, he signed with the New Orleans Saints as the backup to Drew Brees and Taysom Hill.
With Brees retiring, Winston re-signed with the Saints in 2021 and will be in a QB competition with Hill for the starting job. He has the talent, so perhaps Sean Payton can help the 2013 Heisman Trophy-winning QB take the next step.
Kyle Trask (2021)
The possible quarterback of the future for the Bucs is Florida’s Kyle Trask, who was taken in the second round of the 2021 NFL Draft. Tampa Bay is bringing back all 22 starters, so there were not many holes that needed to be filled. Trask stands 6’5” and weighs 240 pounds. He has the physical attributes to be a successful NFL quarterback, and learning under Tom Brady will only benefit him.
The Buccaneers have been the best at drafting journeymen quarterbacks who stick around the NFL for ten years as backup. That does not help you in the Super Bowl odds, however. Winston was the best quarterback the Bucs have drafted, but poor decisions on and off the field affected his time in Tampa Bay. With Brady now under center and on a one-year deal, the future of the Bucs’ QB situation is a significant concern. The selection of Trask signals that they have him in mind to succeed Brady whenever that time may come.
