Most of the recaps of the NFL’s 2024 season have looked at new uniforms or alternates teams have introduced for the 2024 season, and indeed there were a lot of new unis, alternates and helmets introduced this past year. Many of the additions were welcome, such as new gold pants for the Commanders or new orange trou for Cincy. Other additions — including several teams who introduced new white shells in 2024 — not so much. This article will focus on a uniform (jersey) not worn in 2024: the Buccaneers alternate pewter jersey.
Unlike the LA Chargers, who announced prior to the season they were going to drop their royal alternate uniform in 2024, the Buccaneers made no such pronouncement about their pewter tops — but 2024 came and went, and for the first time since they were introduced, the Bucs did not sport their mono-pewter look. Have they been dropped from the rotation permanently?
The Buccaneers unveiled their current uniform set back in 2020, which was hailed as a return to normalcy following the disaster that was the “alarm clock” unis worn from 2014-19.
Arguably, these were the worst uniforms ever introduced in NFL history. Not only is the design terrible, but at the time, the Buccaneers also introduced a new, darker shade of pewter, which looked more brown than their previous pewter. Even after Nike took over the NFL apparel contract, they were still able to produce a lighter shade of pewter for the pre-2014 redesign (those pants also appeared to have a sheen, something Nike supposedly “can’t” manufacture anymore). Unfortunately, even after the much heralded 2020 redesign, the team kept the darker pewter color.
Back in 2020, the NFL was still operating under the “one shell” restriction, so the Bucs were unable to wear their Bucco Bruce throwbacks; as such, the team introduced the pewter jersey as an alternate (in theory, a “Color Rush” uniform). It would get maximum exposure from the jump.
But as the years wore on, the jersey saw less use, and in 2024 it wasn’t worn at all. Is this an indication the team is ditching it? The 2020 redesign means the Buccaneers could introduce a new design heading into 2025 (the “5 year rule” concluded after this season — even if the Bucs keep their primary home and road looks, they could introduce a new alternate jersey for the 2025 season).
Interestingly, the all-pewter uniform wasn’t necessarily designed to be a home alternate. In fact, its debut came on the road and has been worn on the road in subsequent years. It’s also been used in some color vs. color games.
Let’s take a quick look at the Bucs in mono-pewter games, and how they’ve fared in those games.
2020
September 27, 2020
The uni made its debut in Denver, and was a strange color vs. color affair, with the Broncos in orange. The Bucs would win, however, 28-10.
November 23, 2020
The home debut against the Rams, in their dishwater grays, was also technically a color vs. color affair. The Bucs lost this one 27-24.
January 3, 2021
The Bucs closed out their regular season (and march toward another Super Bowl win) in the mono-pewter, a 44-27 home win over the Falcons.
2021
September 26, 2021
After wearing the full pewter three times in 2020, the Bucs would only wear the uniform once in the 2021 season, again against the Rams, although this one was a road game in SoFi. The Rams (again in dishwater) would win 34-24.
2022
December 18, 2022
The all pewter would make only one appearance in 2022, and was worn at home against the Cincinnati Bengals. The Bucs lost 34-23.
2023
November 26, 2023
Once again, the mono pewter made just one appearance in 2023. And once again, the team wore the pewter alts on the road against the Colts, and it resulted in another color vs. color game. The Bucs lost 27-20.
Since the Bucs didn’t wear the pewter-rush uniform in 2024, here are the final tallies:
• Total number of times worn: 6 games
• Worn at home: 3 games
• Worn on road: 3 games
• Color vs. color: 4 games (twice vs. Rams in “bone”)
• Overall Record: 2-4
This has to be the weirdest use of a dark alternate. It was only worn for the home fans in half the games, and in more than half the games it was worn, it was a color vs. color game. That the team compiled a losing record (2 wins, 4 losses) is a good argument for mothballing it entirely.
So is there any specific reason the team stopped wearing the mono pewter (or a combination of the above). Turns out, it may be due to another factor: jer$ey $ale$.
According to this article, “A quick look in the official Bucs store at the stadium shows lots of red, white and orange jerseys, and it looks like the pewter jerseys have been de-emphasized as the alternate. When it comes to jersey sales, the pewter lags far behind the nostalgic orange creamsicle jerseys…”
That article went on to state “if the Bucs wear the pewter jerseys again, it will most likely be as a road alternate, so the chances we see that jersey again are slim.”
As far as alternates go, this one was always a mystery to me. When the team redesigned for 2020, we knew Bucco Bruce wouldn’t be an option (as the NFL hadn’t lifted the one shell rule at this point), but I expected the team to introduce an orange alternate, based on the 2020 uniform template, which would look something like this:
Once the Buccaneers re-introduced the Bucco Bruce throwback in 2023, that probably signaled the end of any possible orange alternate jersey.
So, will the Bucs permanently ditch the pewter jersey going forward? It’s possible, although the article quoted above notes the team would likely only wear the look on the road (and since most teams wear color at home, that severely limits the possible use). The author of that article mentions the “colorblind rule,” which is most likely referring to steps the NFL took in 2015, in which the inaugural Color Rush (and color vs. color) game between the Jets (in green) and Bills (in red), after which the NFL released a statement, saying that it did not account for viewers who are colorblind. However, the Bucs did wear the pewter tops against the Broncos and Colts, so apparently that did not violate the rule.
Honestly, I hope we’ve seen the last of the pewter tops. Whether the team will add a new alternate (maybe a white Bucco Bruce throwback jersey — fingers crossed — with orange pants), keep the pewter as an option, or simply drop it remains to be seen. If jersey sales are any indication, the Bucs are probably done with it.
What do you think? Did you like the all-pewter look? If the team does add a new alternate going forward, what would you like to see?
(And alternately, but related: should the Bucs try to lighten the pewter shade going forward? Nike supposedly can’t — or won’t — make shiny pants, but they could certainly lighten the color of the fabric.)
The floor is yours…
Hopefully they are gone for good, but if they could actually get the color to match the shade of the helmet, and paired them with white pants, it would be more tolerable.
It is sort of amazing that someone designing these uniforms actually thought the alarm clock set or the mono pewter looked good.
The all-pewter looks is atrocious. The “pewter” color itself is awful. So many college teams have gone with some type of dark gray/anthracite alternates that it can’t be that tough to fix what Tampa Bay has now. Oh, how I miss the Pirates of Pewter color that the Buccaneers had when those unis were first introduced.
No thanks.
Mono-white is fine…if you’re an OG like the Colts or the Dolphins or the Longhorns, that WAS and IS the road look and it still looks timeless. Metallic silver looks good when the helmet and pants match, but nobody wants all-silver. (Seahawks? Lions? Raiders? Yeah I didn’t think so.)
I remember the initial metallic pewter with red jerseys in Tampa Bay. I thought that looked pretty damn cool when I was 9. But if nobody wants mono-metal silver, mono-metal pewter is still a turd with different polish. If the pewter isn’t metallic anymore, well I know mono looks are fashionable as “clean,” but at the risk of showing my age, I like some contrast.
The jersey looks good. Red socks with it would make it much more tolerable. I feel, along with the author, that once Bucco made an appearance, the writing on the wall was written for these.
I still will never understand why not wear it with white pants. Mono color rarely looks good.
Yeah, while the jerseys themselves weren’t great, pairing them with white pants would have at least made them tolerable.
Good grief, I had forgotten how terrible those alarm clock uniforms were.
Like, we were all aware of it at the time, but in retrospect (and compared to their current style), they just look so, SO much worse.
I was thinking the same when I saw the photo. I remember it was awful and had absurd numbers, but that was probably the first time I had seen the uniform in a few years, it was somehow worse than I remembered.
I think that uniform and the Jags two color helmet might be the worst designs in NFL history.
Ditch the pewter, but bring back the throwback white/ Creamsicle pants!
“(and since most teams wear color on the road, that severely limits the possible use).”
Most teams wear white on the road, no?
Ugh. Yes. Brain cramp — now fixed.
Thanks
Good. I wish they’d ditch the pewter all together, and bring back the creamsicle as their main uniforms. Use the pewter as an alternate, and get the pants to match the metallic pewter helmets.
I like the pewter because it’s different than just red or blue. However I don’t care for the new shade of pewter; I prefer the old version. When paired with the blood red uniforms it looks great.
Good riddance to the pewter jerseys. The color works well enough for the helmets and pants, but the mono look was horrible. Generally speaking, when it comes to football uniforms, my feeling is that gray of any shade should be a complementary color on the jerseys and never the main color. I’ve never seen a gray jersey that I liked – from the the Los Angeles Rams “bone” (link), to the Seahawks’ “wolf grey” (link), to the Detroit Lions’ medium gray (whatever gimmicky name they’ve given it) (link), to any team in “anthracite” (link). It’s all one big can of NOPE from me. Woof!
I like the pewter tops, though not the mono-pewter uniform. As long as the pants contrast, the helmet-matching top would be a good look, and it’s a color nobody else has. If the choice is between mono-pewter or no pewter, I’m in the no pewter camp, but I wish the team had figured out a way to make a pewter jersey work.
Pewter jersey, Pewter helmets, White pants, Black or Red socks.
A clean, unique, good look. It makes too much sense for them to even try.
There are enough combinations with a Red & White jersey paired with Pewter & White pants. Add in a creamsicle throwback twice per year and you are good.
Hot Take: I would rather the Bucs change the color of the helmet to match the color of the current pants instead of the other way around. The shiny light-pewter pants were…not a great look.
Also, how long do the Bucs have to wear mismatching helmet and pants colors before it becomes a beloved historical quirk like the Cowboys traditional uniforms?
“Also, how long do the Bucs have to wear mismatching helmet and pants colors before it becomes a beloved historical quirk like the Cowboys traditional uniforms?”
Winning percentage, post-merger…
2) DAL .584
32) TB .410
Infinity years. The answer is infinity years.
How about returning the Bucco Bruce throwbacks to the original darker orange shade. The current throwbacks are almost yellow. Go back and take a look at the ’70s orange that Lee Roy Selmon made famous.
Dang. Didn’t expect the the only one here saying that the mono-pew is a great look because of the bold use of white and red. To each their own, I guess. I like these and would love to see them come back.
The pewter definitely needs to be a lighter shade, similar to the original pewter. If they could do that with the jersey too, then the solid pewter could be revisited. I’m not big on the Creamsicle Bucco Bruce look. I see that look, I see Hugh Culverhouse and excessive losing. The look isn’t bad, but the history is horrific. I like that orange alternate. They need to get that, maybe make it the regular color jersey.
Original Bucs uniforms that Culverhouse wanted were to be Green and White.
He was discouraged from it dur to similarity to the Jets
This jersey sucked. The white numbers were crappy. Made it look cheap and lame. Red numbers would have looked meaner and better.
Bring on the white throwback with creamsicle pants!!!
A lot of teams with throwbacks need the white top and color pants options. Tennessee, Philly (make green pants. Would look good with the silver too), Seattle, Denver. There’s a couple others. I know all of them didn’t have colored pants originally, but there’s rule saying they can’t now.
I actually think it would look really nice if they just wore it with white pants instead. The pewter is a good color
Pewter jersey can work with white pants but I prefer the orange jersey and pewter pants pictured as an alternative: awesome design.
If Nike “can’t” make the pants with sheen for teams like the Bucs and Cowboys, perhaps they shouldn’t be making NFL jerseys anymore. I liked the jerseys better before they introduced a new “template” every year or two. They’re pointless money grabs.
Definitely disagree with the thought that anything vs. dishwater grey is “color vs. color”.
I have some balck Gildan tshirts I’ve owned for 5 years. After several hundred washes they are now pewter.
I love the pewter helmet, I love the shiny pewter pants, but the jersey is ugly and looks bland. I never thought of how it would look with white pants as mentioned by several others here. I would like to see that once, but considering how their red and creamsicle jerseys are already terrific I see no reason other than merchandise to entertain that idea.
Those were awful. I never did understand why they had special pants just to go with that jersey? Why didn’t they just wear their regular (anthracite) pewter pants?
Orange and pewter is a surprisingly nice combo – thanks for mocking that up. Shouldn’t be a surprise I guess, since Tennessee has been playing with various grays to pair with their bright orange, and several of those have worked quite well. I was surprised that the Volunteer Carpetbaggers… errrr… Browns’ ownership didn’t try this back when they were desperate. Well, they’re headed back in that direction, so we might still see it.