The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have changed their logo and helmets for the 2014 season. On Thursday, the team unveiled the redesign with the help of Hall of Fame defensive tackle Warren Sapp.
Buccaneers reveal new logo, helmets
Tampa Bay has a new logo and helmet for the first time since 1997, when the uniforms were changed for the first time.
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Blake Bortles is back on top in our last mock draft before the start of the NFL Combine. The new Buccaneers logo is well, a lot like the old one. Changes to the skull make it look slightly more menacing and less like it's laughing, while the flag has been cleaned up to remove some of the "tatters." Major changes come to the helmet, which changes to a darker shade with the logo much larger and more prominent on the helmet, rounded out with a chrome face mask.
Nothing was changed to address the team's effort to ensure Tampa Bay can use its throwback "Bucco Bruce" helmet. League rules mandate a team can only use one primary helmet color per season and the changes don't address that.
Adjustments to the font of the team name were made, too, again to a cleaner look that's less rough around the edges.
This is the third time that the team has had a different logo affixed to the helmet. From their inception in 1976 through 1996, the Bucs had the famous "Bucco Bruce" logo on the sides of its helmet. During those years, the team made it as far as the NFC Championship game once, losing to the Los Angeles Rams in 1979.
After making the playoffs two more times in 1981 and 1982, Tampa Bay failed to make the playoffs until 1997, the first year of its current uniform scheme. Under Tony Dungy, the team made the postseason on an annual basis before firing Dungy following the 2001 campaign.
In 2002, the Buccaneers won their only Super Bowl under Jon Gruden, with Sapp, Derrick Brooks and John Lynch anchoring the defense. Since that time, the Buccaneers have failed to advance to the NFC title game, so perhaps a new look will do them some good.
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