Vinny Testaverde, $8 million and saving the Buccaneers franchise

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have had some pretty impressive quarterbacks come through their franchise.

Doug Williams. Steve Young. Trent Dilfer. Brad Johnson. Shaun King. Josh Freeman. Jameis Winston.

One of the most talked about quarterbacks in Tampa Bay history that had the fan base excited in 1987 was Vinny Testaverde. The Heisman Trophy winner at the University of Miami had just completed a tremendous season in which he threw for 2,557 yards, 26 touchdowns and a 165.8 QB rating. He led the Hurricanes into the 1987 Fiesta Bowl against Penn State for the National Championship. While he had been absolutely outstanding in that 1986 college football season, Testaverde threw five picks in that game as the Nittany Lions beat Miami 14-10.

Vinny Testaverde was the man during the 1986 season for Miami. (Courtesy of Allsport)

Despite the loss, the consensus among many of the NFL insiders was that the Buccaneers were going to pick Testaverde with the #1 selection in the NFL Draft. The team had just finished the 1986 season 2-14, and while they had Steve DeBerg and Steve Young on their QB depth chart, they didn't make much of an impact. The team was plagued by a lackluster offensive line, and a coaching staff who did not have a Bill Walsh-like coaching wizard who could bring out Young's amazing passing talents. Two sport star Bo Jackson was even drafted by the Buccaneers in 1986, but told Tampa Bay he would never play for them after being flown on owner Hugh Culverhouse's private jet to visit the team during baseball season, which was a clear violation of NCAA rules. The Buccaneers told Jackson he had been cleared to fly on the jet, but he was not. This led to Jackson playing baseball first, and the Bucs forfeiting his rights.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers owner Hugh Culverhouse was looking for the next big star QB for his franchise. (Courtesy of Allen Dean Steele/Allsport)

It was not a good time to be a Tampa Bay Buccaneers fan.

Realizing that his team needed to make a statement and that DeBerg and Young weren't going to be the long term answers at the quarterback position (boy, was he wrong on Young), Culverhouse was hell bent on bringing in a QB to revitalize his team.

That QB was Vinny Testaverde.

			Vinny Testaverde at Miami
Year	Team	Games	Completions/Attempts	Yards	TD's	INT	QB Rating
1982	Miami	11	5/12	79	1	0	124.5
1984	Miami	12	17/34	184	0	1	89.6
1985	Miami	11	216/352	3,238	21	15	149.8
1986	Miami	11	175/276	2,557	26	9	165.8
Totals
		45	413/674	6,058	48	25	152.9

It was basically a no-brainer that Tampa selected Testaverde with the first overall pick in the 1987 Draft. At the time, it was a love fest between the QB and the team, and vice versa. Bob Woolf, Testaverde's attorney said at the time it was a match made in heaven.

"There was never a question in my mind the Bucs wanted Vinny Testaverde," Woolf told the Free Lance-Star in Fredricksburg, Virginia. "And there was no question that Vinny wanted Tampa."

The deal was a whopper for the time. 6 years at $8.2 million. It was unusual for Culverhouse, who was known within the NFL as being a skinflint (I mean he wouldn't even budge on giving Doug Williams a decent contract, and he took the Buccaneers to the playoffs three times in four years!), so many NFL insiders couldn't believe Culverhouse would give out such a deal.

"I hope my wife's bank account is still there," Culverhouse joked during a news conference at a Tampa hotel. "We're going to need it."

It also meant that Testaverde had some big expectations heaped on him in a hurry.

"Everybody's been talking about one player changing it around, and it's not going to happen that way," Testaverde told reporters after he signed his big contract. ''It's going to take a team effort to do it."

In the offseason, the Buccaneers hired former New York Giants head coach Ray Perkins to replace Leeman Bennett, who had finished 4-28 in his two years with Tampa. Perkins, who had been an offensive mind, looked to turn Testaverde into a Pro Bowl caliber quarterback. However, that didn't happen, as Perkins was fired right before the end of the 1990 season.

The 1987 Buccaneers did have some offensive promise on their roster. Mark Carrier was taken in the third round of the draft, and would eventually become a Pro Bowler. Arizona State's Bruce Hill would prove to be a nice selection by the Buccaneers, as he made the Pro Bowl in 1988. James Wilder, who was usually slotted as the #1 running back for Tampa during the 1980's, was moved to fullback, where he tallied 488 yards that year.

Mark Carrier was a nice pick up in the 1987 NFL Draft. (Courtesy of Rick Stewart/Allsport)

The 1987 Buccaneers did improve their win total by 2 games, going 4-11 (it should be noted that due to the player's strike, the league used replacement players for a month). However, the team lost eight consecutive games from November 8th through December 27th, including a 35-3 drubbing at the hands of the Los Angeles Rams. Testaverde split the time with Steve DeBerg, who was traded to the Kansas City Chiefs after the season.

		Buccaneers QB Play-1987
Name	Games	Attempts/Completions	Yards	TD's	INT's	QB Rating
Steve DeBerg	12	159/275	1,891	14	7	85.3
Vinny Testaverde	10	71/165	1,081	5	6	60.2

With the 1987 season over with, Testaverde and the Buccaneers turned their sights to 1988, but it wasn't much better, as the team finished 5-11. It was a physically and emotionally rough year for Testaverde, as he finished with 35 interceptions, the 2nd most in NFL history. There was some positive notes though, as he did throw for 3,280 yards.

"From my junior year through my senior year, I received all those accolades and was the first pick in the draft. It's a lot for a young man to take on," Testaverde told the Tampa Bay Times Rick Stroud in February. "Sometimes you're so caught up in your own little football world with teammates and all the coaches, you don't realize all the pressure that's involved until afterward. But coming to a team like Tampa Bay, coming to a team that did not win many games before I ever got there, that was stressful in itself."

Vinny Testaverde suffered through some pretty tough seasons in Tampa Bay. (Courtesy of Jonathan Daniel/Allsport)

In addition to his less than stellar play on the field, Testaverde had to endure abuse from fans all over the league after it was discovered that the young QB was color blind. It was definitely cruel punishment that Testaverde had to overcome.

And he did.

In 1990, he started to show that belonged in the NFL by throwing for 2,818 yards, 17 TD's and a 75.6 QB Rating. In 1992, he continued to improve, passing for 2,554 yards and ending the season with a 74.2 Rating. To Testaverde, it was a sign that he could be a decent quarterback in the NFL.

Even if it meant going elsewhere.

Vinny Testaverde became a good NFL QB while with the Cleveland Browns. (Courtesy of Tim Defrisco/Allsport)

In 1993, Testaverde joined the Cleveland Browns, and the football world finally took notice of his talents. In 1993, he passed for 2,554 yards, 14 TD's and a 85.7 QB Rating. In 1994, he took the Browns to the playoffs. In 1995, Testaverde threw for 17 TD's and a 87.8 QB Rating. This would also be the final season for the original Browns, who relocated to Baltimore after the 1995 season.

After the Browns moved to Baltimore, Vinny Testaverde continued to shine for the newly-minted Ravens. (Courtesy of Doug Pensinger/Allsport)

1996 would be one of his finest seasons, as he would throw for 4,177 yards and 33 touchdowns as he made the Pro Bowl for the first time in his career. After a so-so 1997 season, Testaverde signed with the New York Jets, where he took the franchise to unbelievable heights, throwing for 3,256 yards, 29 touchdowns, and making the Pro Bowl for the second time in his career. He also got the Jets, who for most of the 1990's was one of the worst teams in the NFL, to the 1998 AFC Championship Game, where they would lose to John Elway and the Denver Broncos, 23-10.

Vinny Testaverde had arrived.

Vinny Testaverde had his biggest year in 1998 with the New York Jets. (Courtesy of Al Bello/Allsport)

He played a few more years with the Jets, but never replicated the success he had in 1998. Testaverde had a few stints with Dallas, the Jets (again), the Patriots and Carolina Panthers, where he wrapped up his 21 year career in 2007.

Nowdays, Testaverde in enjoying retired life in Tampa. He owns a chain of PDQ restaurants, and in his spare time, mentors high school and college quarterbacks, including his son Vincent Jr., who is a QB on the Miami Hurricanes. He became a good quarterback after roughing it the first couple of years in Tampa.

Vinny Testaverde is enjoying life in retirement. (Courtesy of Cindy Ord/Getty Images)

The question remains: Would Vinny Testaverde have been a good quarterback in Tampa Bay had he been mentored by say, a Bill Walsh? Or a Jon Gruden? Steve Young definitely proved that with the right offensive line, and the right coaching, you could definitely show what you could do.

I truly feel Vinny Testaverde could have helped the Buccaneers more if they had some innovative offensive minds working on the coaching staff. If any QB is to be successful in the NFL, they need to have the right coaching and the right offensive line protecting them from the blitz.

Vinny Testaverde was a prime example of that.