The Tampa Bay Buccaneers today re-signed defensive lineman William Gholston.
Gholston (6-6, 281) returns for his 11th season in Tampa Bay, making him the second-longest tenured Buccaneers player behind only Lavonte David. Since being selected by Tampa Bay in the fourth round (No. 126 overall) of the 2013 NFL Draft, Gholston has played in 153 career regular season games, with 87 starts. His 153 games played with the Buccaneers rank ninth in franchise history. Dating back to 2017, Gholston has appeared in 88 consecutive games for Tampa Bay.
In his career, Gholston has recorded 401 tackles (58 for loss), 77 quarterback hits, 19.5 sacks, 12 passes defensed, two forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries and four blocked kicks. He has also appeared in all seven playoff games for Tampa Bay over the past three seasons, including Super Bowl LV. In his playoff career, Gholston has tallied four quarterback hits and six tackles, including one for loss.
With Gholston up front, the Buccaneers became the first defense since the Minnesota Vikings (2006-08) to lead the NFL in rushing yards allowed in back-to-back seasons when they did so from 2019-20. Under Todd Bowles’ defensive scheme, Tampa Bay has allowed 92.3 rushing yards per game and 3.95 yards per rush dating back to 2019 – both marks led the NFL over the last four seasons.
Off the field, Gholston has led by example through a steadfast commitment to supporting charitable causes close to his heart. In addition to being Tampa Bay’s 2022 nominee for the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award, he was also named a finalist for the 2022 NFLPA Alan Page Community Award. Gholston has helped spearhead the Buccaneers Mobile Food Pantry program providing food to hundreds of families in East Tampa, and has also helped lead distribution events in his hometown of Detroit. Last year, Gholston donated $225,000 to fund research at Moffitt Cancer Center’s George Edgecomb Society, which seeks to eliminate cancer health disparities among communities of color. He serves as an ambassador for Moffitt and the fight against cancer, which has directly impacted his family. The defensive lineman also mentors middle school students through the team’s Youth Leadership Program, serves as a spokesperson for the It’s A Penalty campaign to prevent human trafficking, and sponsors a community ticket program to provide a special gameday experience for Bay-area charities.
The Detroit native played collegiately at Michigan State. He wears No. 92 for Tampa Bay.
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