Several years ago, I purchased a Bucs two-bar throwback with a grey facemask. The facemask is tightly attached to the helmet, but I thought it could be a factory error. I know the two-bar facemask is not the easiest thing to customize (I have broken a few helmets trying to change the facemask).
A fellow collector – Andrew – reached out to me. He had also found a Bucs two-bar helmet with the grey facemask. And noted it seems like a factory helmet. That is enough evidence for me to conclude that Riddell at some manufactured a Bucs helmet with a grey facemask.
I can find no evidence the Bucs wore a grey facemask. I checked with the primary authority on this, the Gridiron Uniform Database. In addition, Helmet History and the Helmet Project.
The grey helmet has the RIDDell marking on the back. This marking is associated with the 36-piece set (as opposed to other two-bar helmets, which have the RIDDELL marking).
I am going to assume these are factory helmets and add them to the Bucs checklist. I speculate Riddell made the helmet with the grey marking for the 36-piece set, realized the error, and continued with the orange facemask. The following sites have been updated:
So, you don’t need to add a Bucs throwback with a grey facemask to your collection. However, it is a cool oddity.
Riddell NFL Pocket Pro Helmets 
I know of another error with a Tampa Bay helmet, although its with the modern pirate flag logo. When Tampa Bay made changes to their uniform in 2014 – the infamous digital clock jerseys – the pirate flag on the helmet was enlarged, but the Revolution helmet I bought that year following the change displays a flag similar in size to the 1997-2013 design. I managed to find a Speed helmet from this same era a few months ago and Riddell made the correction for that design and enlarged the flag.
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