May 8 Updates
Emeka Egbuka won't be the first Buccaneer ever to wear jersey number 9 – Joe Tryon-Shoyinka sported it for the last four years – but he could be the first Tampa Bay wide receiver to take it into regular-season action.
The six players the Buccaneers selected in the 2025 NFL Draft two weeks ago have now received the jersey numbers they are expected to wear for the team. Of course, all roster numbers are potentially subject to change, but if Egbuka does wear number 9 this season he will definitely be blazing a new trail. Only 10 other men have worn the #9 jersey for the Buccaneers, and eight of those were either punters or kickers. The exceptions were Tryon-Shoyinka and quarterback Mike Pawlawski, who was on the 1992 roster but never actually saw action in a regular-season game. The most prominent #9 in team history was Josh Bidwell, who in 2005 became the first – and still only – Tampa Bay punter ever to make the Pro Bowl.
Jerseys were officially issued to the rookies on Thursday as they arrived for the team's weekend minicamp. They are:
- WR Emeka Egbuka (1st round): 9
- CB Benjamin Morrison (2nd round): 21
- CB Jacob Parrish (3rd round): 25
- OLB David Walker (4th round): 51
- DL Elijah Roberts (5th round): 95
- WR Tez Johnson (7th round): 83
The 21 jersey has almost always been worn by a member of the secondary in Bucs history, most notably cornerback Donnie Abraham from 1996-2001. It was most recently worn by safety Mike Edwards last year in his second stint with the team. The 25 jersey has had alternating dalliances with defensive backs and running backs, including cornerback Brian Kelly, who wore it from 1998-2007 and was the leading interceptor on the 2002 defense that powered the franchise to its first Super Bowl championship.
Of the 16 players who have worn jersey number 51 in team history, all but one of them were linebackers, including Alshermond Singleton, who also started on that 2002 Super Bowl team. Broderick Thomas and Barrett Ruud also called 51 their own.
The #95 jersey has always belonged to defensive ends or interior defensive linemen in franchise history, and now Roberts joins that group. Perhaps most prominent in that number were Chris Hovan from 2005-09; it was most recently worn last year by defensive lineman C.J. Brewer.
Though the majority of NFL wide receivers now wear numbers from 1-19, the 83 jersey holds a prominent place in Bucs history. It was worn the longest by tight end Dave Moore, who ranks fourth in franchise history with 190 games, though 14 of those came in the 86 jersey in 2004. In between Moore's two stints with the Buccaneers, the 83 jersey went to wide receiver Joe Jurevicius, who made several prominent plays in the team's 2002 Super Bowl run. In 2012, wideout Vincent Jackson arrived as an unrestricted free agent and inherited #83, going on to rack up 4,326 receiving yards, the fifth most in franchise history.
