Getting to 53 | S.S. Mailbag

Wide receiver Mike Evans returned to practice this Monday after missing about two weeks with a minor leg injury sustained early in training camp. That was certainly a welcome sight, with opening day of the regular season now just 19 days away. Evans has had such ailments relatively frequently in the offseason and in camp during his career, but it’s worth noting that he has played at least 15 games in each of his eight seasons, and in the other one he played 13. He has that one ability that coaches prize: availability.

And, as Evans has obliterated every record in the Bucs’ books for receivers, he got another back in 2020 that I didn’t really notice at the time. Spoiled a fun little note I used to like to throw at people in the process, too, but I can’t begrudge the man that. He’s just doing his job. Did you know that, until Evans came along, Karl Williams was the only receiver in franchise history who had played in more than 100 regular season games for the franchise?

That’s right, Karl ‘The Truth’ Williams. Not Mark Carrier, not Kevin House, not Vincent Jackson or Joey Galloway or Michael Clayton. Karl Williams. He played in 115; third on the list is Gerald Carter, with exactly 100. Evans eclipsed 100 games in 2020 and the passed Williams for the outright lead last year, getting up to 122 games played by season’s end. And counting, obviously.

Which got me to thinking, who would qualify for the Bucs’ Been There team? That is, what players at each position have simply been there the longest, or were there during their Tampa Bay tenures? Let’s take a look!

I’m going to go a bit deeper than 22 starters. I’ll list a total of 13 players on offense to account for changes in the game over the past half-century, as I am including a fullback position plus a third receiver and a second tight end. On defense I’ll also have 13, adding one extra cornerback since the nickel position has become so prevalent and noting both three off-ball linebackers and three down linemen since the Bucs have used both 4-3 and 3-4 fronts prominently through the years. I’ll finish it off with a punter, a kicker and a long-snapper. So here you go, the Buccaneers’ franchise…

DL/DT: William Gholston (137)

DL/DT: Gerald McCoy (123)

DE/OLB: Chidi Ahanotu (121)

DE/OLB: Lee Roy Selmon (121)

LB: Shelton Quarles (148)

P: Josh Bidwell/Mark Royals (80)

LS: Andrew Economos (108)

There was one really tough case here, and that was John Cannon. Cannon played 122 games for the Buccaneers, which is one more than…