Could this be the year that former Bucs star pass rusher and soon-to-be Bucs Ring of Honor inductee Simeon Rice gets his well-deserved call to the Pro Football Hall of Fame?

On Wednesday, his 2026 candidacy took the next necessary step as he moved forward to the next level of the voting process. He is among the 52 modern-era players who advanced to the next round.

In this next step of the Pro Football Hall of Fame voting process, each member of the selection committee reviews the advancing 52 players and casts a vote for the 25 nominees they believe should advance to the semifinalist stage. Semifinalists will be announced in about five weeks, then the complete Class of 2026 will be announced prior to Super Bowl LX in February.

There’s truly no valid argument against Simeon Rice being a Pro Football Hall of Famer.

Over his 12-year career, Rice totaled 122.0 sacks, 472 tackles, 59 passes defensed, 34 forced fumbles, eight fumble recoveries and five interceptions. He played in seven playoff games over the course of his career, tallying seven sacks, 23 tackles, three forced fumbles, two passes defensed and a fumble recovery.

Former Bucs DE Simeon Rice – Photo By: USA Today

At the time of his retirement, his 122.0 career sacks had him top 20 all-time. At the time, his 12.5 sacks in his 1996 Defensive Rookie of the Year season were the second-most of any rookie ever. And across an eight-season span from 1998 through 2005, he posted 101.5 sacks, which was more than Hall of Famers Michael Strahan and Jason Taylor. He had at least 11 sacks in each season between 2001 and 2005, making him only the fifth player in league history to reach double-digit sacks in five straight seasons with the same team.

Not to mention, Rice had eight seasons in his career with double-digit sacks, which ties him for the seventh-most in NFL history. He only trails Hall of Famers Bruce Smith, Reggie White, Julius Peppers, Kevin Greene, John Randle and Claude Humphrey.

Overall, Rice was a three-time Pro Bowler, 2002 First Team All-Pro and a Super Bowl XXXVII champion.

Rice is the most prominent Buc of the 52 to advance to the next round of Hall of Fame voting, but he’s not the only former Tampa Bay player in the group. Warrick Dunn, Logan Mankins, Lorenzo Neal, Lomas Brown and LeSean McCoy are the others.

Simeon Rice Isn’t Just A Bucs Legend – He’s A Hall Of Famer

Simeon Rice spent six seasons with the Bucs, starting 87 games and totaling 69.5 sacks – the third-most in franchise history, trailing only Hall of Famers Lee Roy Selmon and Warren Sapp. Rice remains one of the most dominant pass rushers and overall defensive players in franchise history, and his run of five straight seasons leading the team in sacks is a feat that has only ever been matched by two other Bucs – Selmon (1976-1981) and Gerald McCoy (2013-2017).

Former Bucs DE Simeon Rice – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Of course, Rice was a crucial part of the dominant Tampa Bay defense that led the way to Super Bowl XXXVII. That was an All-Pro season for him, as he totaled 15.5 sacks, six forced fumbles, 12 tackles for loss and an interception over 16 games. And in the team’s three-game run to the organization’s first Lombardi Trophy, he posted four sacks, three forced fumbles and a fumble recovery.

That 2002 Buccaneer defense was one of the most dominant units in league history, and it already features Hall of Famers in Warren Sapp, Derrick Brooks, John Lynch and Ronde Barber. But that’s been a fact that has perhaps held Rice back from getting the call up to this point, as arguments – flawed ones – have been made that there shouldn’t be a fifth member of that defense with a bust in Canton.

That’s an argument that Pro Football Hall of Famer and Bucs Ring of Honor member Tony Dungy, who coached Rice in 2001, disagrees with. He said as much in an appearance on the Pewter Report Podcast back in August.

“You can’t look at it that way. Hall of Fame is an individual honor,” Dungy said. “And you’ve got to be judged on what you did and how you performed in your era. My roommate with the Steelers, Donnie Shell, was kind of in that boat. Donnie Shell had 51 interceptions; he was a primetime player. He did some great things, and people were like, ‘Well, we’ve already got eight guys, we’ve already got nine guys off that team, we can’t put another.’ Don’t worry about that. What did Donnie Shell do? Did he deserve to be a Hall of Famer?

“Let’s look at Simeon Rice and look at his career and his statistics. Don’t worry about Ronde Barber, don’t worry about Warren Sapp. That’s not what we’re talking about. We’re talking about Simeon Rice.”

Bucs Hall of Fame CB Ronde Barber and Hall of Famers Warren Sapp, Tony Dungy, Derrick Brooks and John Lynch – Photo by: USA Today

Dungy also said he didn’t understand how only four new members were inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2025 when there were others, like Simeon Rice, who are deserving of getting the call.

“He is [a Hall of Famer], and we had this discussion, I just got back from the Hall of Fame,” Dungy added. “We only inducted four people this year. I don’t understand it. You’ve got guys like Simeon Rice, like Adam Vinatieri who are sitting on the outside waiting, and we only put four people in. It doesn’t make sense to me.

“But yes, from a talent level, exactly what you want. Played on some great teams. Has a Super Bowl ring, averaged 10 sacks per year. I always look at people, were they dominant, were they the best in their era? And here’s a guy who was. I think his time is coming, hopefully in the next year or two. But yeah, definitely should be there.”

Rice has reached this level of voting before. His first year of eligibility was 2013 and reached the semifinalist stage in 2018 and 2020 before being among the group of 50 last year. But to this point, the honor has eluded him.

Former Bucs DE Simeon Rice – Photo by: USA Today

Speaking of honor, though, Rice is set to be inducted into the Bucs Ring of Honor later this season when Tampa Bay hosts the Arizona Cardinals on Nov. 30. Rice’s career began with the Cardinals, and in five seasons with the team, he totaled 51.5 sacks, won Defensive Rookie of the Year in 1996 and was a Pro Bowler in 1999.

Jon Gruden, a member of the Bucs Ring of Honor himself, told Pewter Report in July that he’s excited to see Rice’s name up inside Raymond James Stadium and believes the dominant pass rusher deserves a spot in Canton, too.

“Ring of Honor is great and justifiable and well deserved and exciting for the Buc fans,” Gruden said. “Because he was a dominating player. And I hope he does get in the Hall of Fame with those credentials. And he should get in the Hall of Fame based on what I’ve seen. But I’m not the one to ask. I don’t have much of a say in that, but what the hell are the credentials to get in the Hall of Fame? I don’t know.

“But to see Simeon up there with Sapp and Brooks and Barber and all the guys that made it happen, I can’t wait to see that day.”

It’s sure to be an emotional Sunday at Raymond James Stadium on Nov. 30, especially if Rice’s Ring of Honor induction press conference back in May was anything to go off of.