Bucs Gameday

Tampa Bay Buccaneers Wide Receiver to Rock New Number in 2023

Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver, Russell Gage, appears to be going with a new jersey number in 2023.
Caleb Skinner|
Tampa Bay Buccaneers Wide Receiver to Rock New Number in 2023
Tampa Bay Buccaneers Wide Receiver to Rock New Number in 2023

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Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have added a ton of new faces and undergone a lot of changes since the end of the 2022 season. 

READ MORE: Former Buccaneers Running Back Announces Retirement From NFL

One of the returnees from last year's squad, wide receiver Russell Gage, will also be showing Bucs fans a change as he appears to be switching his jersey number from No. 17 to No. 3 after being photographed rocking the new number during offseason workouts on Tuesday.

Gage has never previously worn a single-digit number even dating back to his time in college at Louisiana State University. At LSU, Gage primarily wore No. 83 and when he was drafted by the Atlanta Falcons he again donned No. 83 for his first three seasons before trading it in for the No. 14. Gage and 14 didn't last too long as he signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. With the Bucs, Gage rocked the No. 17 as fellow wideout Chris Godwin held the No. 14 jersey.

Now entering his second season with Tampa Bay, Gage appears ready to rock with No. 3 after the Buccaneers released the former owner of the jersey number, Kicker Ryan Succop, this offseason.

It turns out, however, that Gage may have stolen the number No. 3  before one of the Bucs' rookies could stake claim to the jersey number. The Buccaneers' recent sixth-round draft selection, WR Trey Palmer, notably rocked the No. 3 during his final collegiate season at the University of Nebraska, and even posted a picture on his Instagram with a Bucs' jersey swap. He previously wore the number 33 at LSU before transferring to Nebraska for his final season - one that saw him top personal bests. 

Even if Palmer wanted to retain the No. 3 coming into the NFL it would be a hard task and probably cost a pretty penny to get it away from Gage.

READ MORE: Former Bucs WR Antonio Brown Announces He's Returning to NFL With New Team

Stick with BucsGameday and the Locked On Bucs podcast for more coverage of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers throughout the offseason.

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Caleb Skinner
CALEB SKINNER

Caleb is from Nashville, TN and graduated from Florida State University in 2018 with majors in Sociology and History. He has previously written for an FSU outlet and started covering the Buccaneers in March of 2022. Caleb is an avid sports fan and former host of the Tribeoholics podcast. You can follow Caleb on Twitter @chsnole

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