There must be something about this number that means "give it to a fullback". Six of the 15 players to have worn No.43 for the Buccaneers played that position. Jerry Eckwood was one of the better backs in Buc history albeit that he was overshadowed first by Ricky Bell and then James Wilder during his three-year career in Tampa Bay. Terdell Middleton's claim to fame is that he played only nine games for the Bucs but managed to wear three different numbers in the process. Beasley Reece went on to a successful broadcasting career after leaving the Bucs where he started for parts of two seasons in the secondary and William Howard had some nice moments running the ball for Ray Perkins including a 100-yard game against New England in 1988. Tracy Johnson and Kevin McLeod were little more than cup-of-coffee members of the Buccaneers, before Jameel Cook owned the number for five years although his most other stint with the Bucs saw him take the 33 jersey. Elbert Mack had the jersey for a year before switching to his more regular 33 jersey allowing Ahmad Black to take over when he made the roster in 2011. One of the most recent owners was Bobby Rainey who had some great early games with the Buccaneers but not enough to take the honour away from Eckwood. Peyton Barber wore the number during his rookie season before switching to his current 25 jersey allowing free agent signing TJ Ward to take over the mantle when he arrived in September 2017. BEST EVER TO WEAR No.43 FOR THE BUCS - JERRY ECKWOOD

Click on the player's name for their profile page, Buccaneer stats and picture galleries Years Player Pos 1976-77 Ed Williams FB 1979-81 Jerry Eckwood RB 1982 Terdell Middleton RB 1983-84 Beasley Reece S 1988-89 William Howard FB 1993-94 Rudy Harris FB 1996 Tracy Johnson FB 1999-00 Kevin McLeod FB 2001-05 Jameel Cook FB 2008 Elbert Mack CB 2011-13 Ahmad Black S 2013-15 Bobby Rainey RB 2016 Peyton Barber RB 2017 TJ Ward S 2020-21 Ross Cockrell S