Three of the leading five passers in franchise history wore the No.12 shirt for the Bucs, Doug Williams, Trent Dilfer and Tom Brady. But this number will always be associated with Doug, a five-year starter in Tampa Bay and the official beginning of the dark days of Buc football began when he left for the USFL. Between these Williams and Dilfer came NFL veteran Joe Ferguson who made two starts during his two seasons backing up Vinny Testaverde. Trent of course will remain a hero for his character through the face of incredible personal adversity and there can hardly be a Buc fan anywhere who wasn't cheering for him when he won a Super Bowl with the Baltimore Ravens. Marcus Knight and Adrian Madise were both one-game wonders from the 2004 season who were both inactive for their only appearances on the roster, but became part of the franchise all-time roster all the same. Rudy Carpenter’s three seasons with the Bucs were spent wearing his cap backwards on the sideline and one hand-off in a 2011 home loss. Jordan Shipley and Roscoe Parrish both spent time during 2012 returning punts with varied success. Josh McCown signed with the Bucs in the 2014 off- season and was appointed starter for the year but did little to impress coming off recent good seasons in Chicago and was released in February 2015. Chris Godwin took over the number for his rookie season of 2017 and really impressed in his first three seasons before handing the number over to the GOAT. But the discussion over whether Brady should be in the Bucs’ Ring of Honor is not for this page. He had two great seasons and one not-so-great with the Bucs and won a Super Bowl but the nod for the best ever 12 remains with Doug Williams who was the heart and soul of the first three playoff teams in franchise history. BEST EVER TO WEAR No.12 FOR THE BUCS - DOUG WILLIAMS

Click on the player's name for their profile page, Buccaneer stats and picture galleries Years Player Pos 1978-82 Doug Williams QB 1988-89 Joe Ferguson QB 1994-99 Trent Dilfer QB 2004 Marcus Knight WR 2004 Adrian Madise WR 2005-08 Luke McCown QB 2009-11 Rudy Carpenter QB 2012 Jordan Shipley WR 2012 Roscoe Parrish WR 2014 Josh McCown QB 2017-19 Chris Godwin WR 2020-22 Tom Brady QB