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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. 35.

No. 50 – Mark Cotney
No. 49 – Mike Washington
No. 48 – Richard “Batman” Wood
No. 47 – Aqib Talib
No. 46 – Ricky Reynolds
No. 45 – Keyshawn Johnson
No. 44 – Ricky Bell
No. 43 – Vincent Jackson
No. 42 – Mark Carrier
No. 41 – Donnie Abraham
No. 40 – Cadillac Williams
No. 39 – Joey Galloway
No. 38 – Kevin House
No. 37 – Davin Joseph
No. 36 – Shelton Quarles

No. 35. Michael Pittman
Pittman played four years with the Cardinals before the Bucs signed him as a free agent in 2002, shortly after Warrick Dunn departed for Atlanta. Pittman played a key role on a championship team, saving his best for last by rushing 29 times for 124 yards in the Super Bowl rout of the Raiders. He led Tampa Bay in rushing in each of his first three seasons as a Buccaneer and still ranks sixth in career rushing yards and ninth in career receptions.

34. Leonard Fournette
Selected by Jacksonville with the fourth overall pick in the 2017 draft, Fournette signed with the Bucs as a free agent in 2020, one week after his release from the Jaguars. He arrived only five days before the start of the regular season and by the end of Tampa Bay’s championship run, he earned the nickname “Playoff Lenny.” Fournette rushed for 300 yards and three scores in the playoffs, adding 18 catches for 148 yards and another touchdown, joining Terrell Davis and Larry Fitzgerald as the only players to score a TD in four consecutive games in a single postseason. In a playoff loss against the Rams the following season, Fournette ran for 51 yards and two scores while catching all nine passes Tom Brady sent his way.

33. Donovan Smith
Soon after Donald Penn moved on, the Bucs solved their issues at left tackle by choosing Smith in the second round of the 2015 draft. He missed only six games in eight years while earning a pair of contract extensions from Jason Licht. He finished his career as a blind-side blocker for Patrick Mahomes in KC, winning another Super Bowl. Smith played in 98 percent of the snaps during his NFL career and the only Buccaneer to start more games at offensive tackle is Paul Gruber.

32. Rob Gronkowski
Along with Brady, Gronkowski helped change the culture at One Buc Place when he came out of retirement in 2020 to play for Bruce Arians. Tampa Bay traded a compensatory fourth-round pick to New England for the dynamic tight end, whose 28-yard catch late at Green Bay sealed Tampa Bay’s victory in the NFC title game. Gronkowski went on to grab two scoring passes from Brady in the Super Bowl victory against the Chiefs. He opened the 2021 season with four TD catches in the first two weeks before suffering rib fractures vs. the Rams. He returned fully in Week 11 and caught a scoring pass against the Eagles in the playoffs. Facing the Rams the following week, Gronkowski posted four catches for 85 yards.

31. Doug Martin
A late first-round pick in 2012, the “Muscle Hamster” ran for 1,454 yards and 11 TDs as a rookie, earning Pro Bowl honors. His highlight game came at Oakland, where he ran for a franchise-record 251 yards and scored four times. After his rookie year, Martin was named the league’s 57th-best player in voting by his peers. A torn labrum sidelined Martin for much of 2013, but he rebounded with 1,402 yards in 2015 and was named a first-team All-Pro. Martin was out of football by 2019 at the age of 30, but he still ranks fourth in career rushing yards and third in rushing TDs for the Buccaneers. He also boasts two of the top three rushing seasons in franchise annals.