Flag Football is Coming to the Olympic Games in 2028
The NFL owners voted on Tuesday to allow players in the league to participate in the flag football competition at the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. The owners voted unanimously in favor of allowing players to participate in the Olympics and it also received support from the NFL Players Association and Olympic officials. The league will work with the players union, along with the International Federation of American Football on rules for the participation of NFL players regarding team concerns about the availability and health of their cornerstone players. The Olympic flag football competition will consist of six men's and six women's teams with 10 players each that will qualify for the debut in 2028.
There will only be 10 spots on the U.S. Olympic flag football team and only one player from any NFL team can compete for the U.S. team, though there will also be opportunities for NFL players with international ties to play for other countries. Players that specialize in elusiveness and boast shifty feet will be a coveted addition to the USA squad in evading the opposition from taking flags.
Simeon Rice to be 16th Inductee in Bucs Ring of Honor
Simeon Rice – one of the most esteemed pass rushers in league annals, and a key fixture in the Bucs' Super Bowl XXXVII championship run – will become the 16th inductee into the Buccaneers Ring of Honor at Raymond James Stadium in 2025. Rice becomes the fifth defensive player, and eighth overall member, from Tampa Bay's 2002 Super Bowl-winning team to receive this distinction, joining fellow legends Rondé Barber, Derrick Brooks, John Lynch, and Warren Sapp.
Rice's induction will take place during a halftime ceremony when Tampa Bay hosts the Arizona Cardinals at Raymond James Stadium on Sunday, Nov. 30 for a 1:00 p.m. ET kickoff.
In six seasons with the Buccaneers (2001–2006), Rice started all 87 games he played and amassed 69.5 sacks, the third-most in team history behind Pro Football Hall of Famers Lee Roy Selmon and Warren Sapp. He led the Bucs in sacks in each of his first five seasons with the club, joining Selmon (1976-81) and Gerald McCoy (2013-17) as the only Buccaneers to do so in at least five straight years. To date, Rice owns five of the top ten sack-producing seasons in franchise history, including three of the top five.
Over an eight-season stretch from 1998 to 2005, Rice accumulated a league-best 101.5 sacks, outpacing Pro Football Hall of Fame contemporaries such as Michael Strahan and Jason Taylor. From 2001 to 2005, Rice recorded at least 11.0 sacks in each season, becoming one of only five players in NFL history at the time to post double-digit sacks in five consecutive years for the same team. His eight career seasons with 10.0 or more sacks are tied for the seventh-most in league history, ranking just behind a group of Pro Football Hall of Famers in Bruce Smith, Reggie White, Julius Peppers, Kevin Greene, John Randle and Claude Humphrey.
A catalyst of Tampa Bay's Super Bowl XXXVII championship team, Rice joined an already lethal defense in 2001 and elevated it to new heights during the team's historic 2002 campaign. That season, he led the team with 15.5 sacks in the regular season and added a team-high 4.0 more in the postseason – including 2.0 sacks of league MVP Rich Gannon in the Buccaneers' dominant 48–21 victory over the Oakland Raiders in the Super Bowl.
A three-time Pro Bowler, Rice was also a first-team All-Pro and two-time second-team All-Pro selection. He was named the 1996 Associated Press Defensive Rookie of the Year after posting 12.5 sacks – tied for the second-most by a rookie in NFL history at the time, trailing only Pro Football Hall of Famer Reggie White.
Lavonte David on Mike Evans' Historical Streak of 1,000-Yard Seasons
Buccaneers' legendary linebacker Lavonte David served as a guest on Good Morning Football and recalled the moment that Mike Evans made history on the field against the Saints in Week 18.
"I have the most respect for Mike [Evans]," described David. "He is just an incredible individual and I wish a lot of people could be a guy like Mike. Be like Mike. He is an incredible man, an incredible person and going back to win he tied it [the record] for 11-straight seasons, everybody wanted it for him. I remember when Bucky [Irving] scored, it put us up and it secured the game but we were like, 'Dang, we have to find a way to get the offense the ball back so Mike can get the record.' Defensively, we went out there and made a stop. The very first play was drawn up for Mike and he accomplished that, and you just saw the whole stadium, the whole football team – coaches included – just be excited and it speaks volumes to the type of person that he is and the type of guy he is."
With the Bucs' 27-19 victory over the Saints, the club secured their fourth-straight division title. In the clash, Evans posted nine catches for 89 yards in the win and etched his name in history on the final play. After Tampa Bay's defense got a stop to halt a potential Saints' rally, including David getting his fingertips on a second-down pass attempt to force an incompletion and stout coverage by Josh Hayes on fourth-and-five versus Cedrick Wilson Jr., Mayfield and cast had an opportunity to run another play for Evans to eclipse 1,000 yards. Evans needed five yards to reach the milestone and he got nine to hit 1,004 on the year. On the nail-biting play, Evans motioned from the slot on the right side of the formation to the left and ran a flat route behind Jalen McMillan and Sterling Shepard's slants – a play specifically designed so he could not be doubled and the chances of an interception would be close to zero. Evans caught the ball just 1.6 yards past the line of scrimmage but turned upfield and picked up the rest after the catch. With the grab, he tied Hall of Famer Jerry Rice for the longest streak of 1,000-yard receiving seasons in NFL history. That moment, forever immortalized in Bucs' lore, conveyed the impact of Evans not only to the Buccaneers, but the entire city of Tampa.
