When Will James Wilder Get Inducted Into Bucs Ring Of Honor?

Pewter Report has touched on his candidacy over the years, and his son has called out the team in the past for not properly recognizing his dad. Back in 2019, Scott Reynolds argued that he had a Ring of Honor career and summarized it with this point.

“What’s even harder to believe is that some of the records former Bucs running back James Wilder set over 30 years ago still stand today. Wilder, who wore No. 32 in orange and white, was the greatest Tampa Bay player you might not remember.”

It may be easy to forget a player who has long been retired, but it’s hard to ignore his peak on the gridiron. The 1984 and 1985 seasons were his biggest in terms of production as the focal point of the offense. Between those two seasons, he amassed 772 carries and caught 138 passes. He set the franchise record for most rushing yards in a season in 1984 with 1,544 and added 685 yards receiving, totaling an astounding 2,229 scrimmage yards that year.

Recognizing him became the premise of Pewter Report’s Lost At Sea series done last year going over some players at each position who have been forgotten for the impact they made with the team before their Super Bowl victories. Players that – aside from discussions amongst hardcore fans – aren’t brought up much in conservation. Those players deserve recognition and to be immortalized in team lore, with Wilder being one of them.

What Has Held James Wilder Back From Induction, When Could It Happen?

What perhaps has hurt James Wilder’s case besides the lack of team success the team had in the 1980s is the fact that the Glazer family did not own the team when he played, so there is a lack of a connection between the player and the team in the present day.

This has resulted in a general lack of life to him being inducted into the Bucs Ring of Honor, although his candidacy is just as warranted as other players like Tom Brady, Simeon Rice, and Hardy Nickerson, among others.

When asked about the team’s plans for the Ring of Honor this year back at the NFL Annual Meeting in March, Bucs co-owner Joel Glazer said “Every year, it’s looked at. We had a string of a lot of years in a row where we had somebody. So it’ll be year-to-year making those decisions, and this year will be no different than any other. We’ll be taking a look at it.”

If the team chooses to hold off on inducting players this year, they could go all out in 2025, which would be the franchise’s 50th season, or 2026, the franchise’s 50th birthday. In that case, celebrating the legacy of the Bucs could start with acknowledging James Wilder, who remains the most accomplished running back in team history.