On Monday, Tampa Bay Buccaneers co-owner Bryan Glazer pushed for former defensive end Simeon Rice, who totaled 122 sacks in 12 seasons and led Tampa Bay to a win in Super Bowl XXXVII to be inducted into the Hall of Fame.
Rice was announced as an inductee into the Buccaneers’ Ring of Honor on Monday, and Glazer pointed toward his numbers when making his case for Rice to don a gold jacket.
“From 1996 to 2005, [Rice] totaled a league-best 101.5 sacks over those eight years — more than Hall of Famers Michael Strahan and Jason Taylor,” Glazer said, according to ESPN.
“During that same stretch, his mark of eight seasons with double-digit sack totals is the seventh most in NFL history, and six men ahead of him on that list are members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
“Simeon’s credentials for induction into our Ring of Honor are unquestioned, but he’s equally qualified and deserving of an overdue call from the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Notably, he’s the only retired player with 100 sacks over eight consecutive seasons who doesn’t own a gold jacket. It’s time to rectify that oversight.”
Rice said that while he once really wanted to be inducted into the Hall of Fame, it’s not something he feels he needs anymore.
“I’m not burdened by that anymore,” he said. “At one point in time when my father was going through what he was going through, I was like, ‘I want to get the call before my father and my mom — but more so my pops.’ … I remember my mom and my dad on their deathbeds, and I remember my father was like, ‘Sim, this going to happen.’ I’m like, ‘Dad, don’t worry about that.’
“Then once my parents passed away, it wasn’t so much anymore.”
Even if he never gets to put on a gold jacket, Rice had the sort of career anyone would be proud of.
About Qwame Skinner
Qwame Skinner has loved both writing and sports his entire life. In addition to his sports coverage at Comeback Media, Qwame writes novels, and his debut; The First Casualty, an adult fantasy, is out now.