The Tampa Bay Buccaneers announced today that Simeon Rice – one of the most prolific pass rushers in NFL history, and a key figure in the team's 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.
"During his Hall of Fame-worthy 12-year career, Simeon Rice established himself as one of the most dominant pass rushers in NFL history and is immensely deserving of his place as the 16th member in the Buccaneers Ring of Honor," said Buccaneers Owner/Co-Chairman Bryan Glazer. "Simeon arrived in Tampa prior to the 2001 season and immediately elevated our defense into one of the greatest of all-time. He left an indelible mark on our franchise, and we look forward to honoring and celebrating his great career this upcoming season."
In six seasons with the Buccaneers (2001–2006), Rice started all 87 games he played and totaled 69.5 sacks, the third-most in team history behind Pro Football Hall of Famers Lee Roy Selmon and Warren Sapp. He led the Buccaneers 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 amassed 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 cornerstone of Tampa Bay's Super Bowl XXXVII championship team, Rice joined an already formidable 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.
Originally selected as the No. 3 overall pick in the 1996 NFL Draft by the Arizona Cardinals, Rice concluded his career having started 161-of-174 games played between the Cardinals (1996-2000), Buccaneers (2001-06), Denver Broncos (2007) and Indianapolis Colts (2007). He finished with 122.0 career sacks, ranking among the top 20 in league history at the time of his retirement. Rice also added 472 career tackles, 59 passes defensed, 34 forced fumbles, eight fumble recoveries and five interceptions. In seven career postseason contests – all starts – he tallied 23 tackles, 7.0 sacks, three forced fumbles, two passes defensed, and one fumble recovery.
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. At the University of Illinois, Rice was one of the most decorated defenders in Big Ten history, where he was a two-time All-American, three-time first-team All-Big Ten selection, Big Ten Defensive Lineman of the Year, and the recipient of the Jack Lambert Trophy.
-BUCCANEERS-
