New Bucs uniform ditches digital numbers for a more classic look

TAMPA — The Bucs are going back to their winning ways.

The team unveiled redesigned uniforms on Tuesday afternoon, and their new look resembles the look the Bucs had during their Super Bowl era from 1997 to 2013.

Like many other NFL teams that spent the past decade trying to modernize uniforms as Nike took over as the league’s official outfitter, the Bucs ditched the gaudy digital numbers to return to a more classical look with clean, one-color jerseys.

The Bucs’ primary colors will be a deeper, richer red and a modernized pewter. Primary jerseys are red and white, pants are pewter and white, and the biggest change is an all-pewter color rush uniform that can be worn three times a year.

Allow us to show you the future 😏#GoBucs pic.twitter.com/naURTtwkZ3
— Tampa Bay Buccaneers (@Buccaneers) April 7, 2020

With the exception of some finer details, the primary uniforms largely mirror the ones they wore through the franchise’s most successful time on the field.

When the Bucs introduced pewter to the NFL uniform color palette in 1997 — replacing the orange, red and white, plume-hat wearing, knife-chomping Bucco Bruce creamsicle uniforms with a pewter, red and black color scheme that included a red pirate flag as the primary logo — they went on to make the playoffs four of the next five seasons, and seven times over an 11-year stretch, including the team’s only Super Bowl win in 2002.

Many of the franchise’s best players — Derrick Brooks, Warren Sapp, John Lynch and Ronde Barber — played their best years in red and pewter.

The Bucs revealed their uniforms on social media, with players Lavonte David, Chris Godwin and Devin White serving as models. Within minutes, the new jerseys (including ones for new quarterback Tom Brady) were available on the team’s website.

They planned their uniform redesign well before they signed quarterback Brady last month, but the unveiling of new uniforms will represent a new chapter in more ways than one.

“This new but familiar look is a direct result of the valuable feedback we received from our fans," Bucs co-owner Ed Glazer said in a statement. "We are excited to return to our classic Super Bowl-era uniforms while also introducing a sleek Color Rush uniform that showcases our signature pewter in a new and dramatic way. The refreshed classic design of our home-and-away combinations bridges our past with our exciting new future, and we are confident it will resonate with our fans.”

With the introduction of their new uniforms, and coincidentally, the acquisition of the best quarterback in the history of the game, the Bucs hope these uniforms will be connected with better days.