Buccaneers COO: Return of creamsicle uniforms “not a question of if, it’s just when”

[Captain Fear]

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Thursday’s decision by the league to ditch the one-helmet rule has sparked plenty of fascination regarding the uniforms that NFL teams could embrace. One of the first ensembles that comes to mind are the Tampa Bay Buccaneers creamsicles, which the players wore from 1976 through 1995.

Before Thursday’s new rule came to light, Buccaneers COO Brian Ford told reporters that, someday, the throwbacks will be back.

“It’s very important to our fan base, as well as the Glazer family and our entire organization,” Ford said, via Joey Knight of the Tampa Bay Times. “We love to kind of reminisce and play some ’70s and ’80s music and bring out the big pom-poms and the creamsicle. So it’s not a question of if, it’s just when, and we’ll definitely keep you posted.”

Here’s the one fact that most have overlooked: Although teams have until July 31 to adopt a second helmet for 2022, it’s too late to submit to the league a uniform change for 2022. Thus, unless the Bucs wants to wear their Bucco Bruce helmets with one of their red-and-pewter configurations, the old-school helmets won’t be back until the old-school uniforms can return, in 2023.

The Bucs last wore the Bucco Bruce uniforms in 2012. At the earliest, they’ll be back in 2023.