On Sunday afternoon, legendary pass rusher Simeon Rice will be inducted into the Bucs Ring of Honor inside Raymond James Stadium at halftime of Tampa Bay’s game against another one of his former teams, the Arizona Cardinals.

It’ll be a special day for Rice, as he’s set join other core members of the Super Bowl XXXVII-winning Buccaneer defense – Warren Sapp, Derrick Brooks, John Lynch and Ronde Barber – in the Ring of Honor. Considering the prolific pass rusher’s impact on the franchise and his role in the Bucs’ first-ever Lombardi Trophy-winning season, it’ll feel so right seeing his name immortalized alongside those others inside the stadium he called home for six seasons.

In fact, it’s something that’s long overdue. Simeon Rice’s name belongs with Sapp’s, Brooks’, Lynch’s and Barber’s inside Raymond James Stadium. But that’s not all. His name belongs with his former teammates’ inside the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, too.

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

Unfortunately, though, this Ring of Honor induction day comes in the same week that saw Rice once again snubbed for Hall of Fame consideration. After previously advancing in the voting process, the 1996 Defensive Rookie of the Year, three-time Pro Bowler, 2002 All-Pro and Super Bowl XXXVII champion was not among the 26 semifinalists named this past week. Rice missed the cut again, and that’s a shame.

For now, Rice can simply add his Buccaneers Ring of Honor to his already-robust Hall of Fame résumé and hope that 2027 will be the year he finally gets the call to Canton.

“Ring of Honor is great and justifiable and well deserved and exciting for the Buc fans,” Rice’s former head coach, Jon Gruden, told Pewter Report back in July. “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.”

There’s No Denying It – Simeon Rice Has Hall Of Fame Credentials

It’s been said countless times before and it’s worth repeating until Simeon Rice gets the call he deserves: There’s no valid argument against his candidacy for the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

The numbers? Over 12 seasons, Rice totaled 122.0 sacks, 472 tackles, 59 passes defensed, 34 forced fumbles, eight fumble recoveries and five interceptions. At the time he retired, his 122.0 career sacks had him top 20 all-time. Even now, he’s 22nd all-time.

Playoff success? Rice 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. In the Bucs’ run to their first-ever Super Bowl appearance and victory at the end of the 2002 season, he had four sacks and three forced fumbles over three games. In Super Bowl XXXVII itself, he had two sacks and a forced fumble.

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

The context behind Rice’s career numbers, unique milestones and how his résumé stacks up with those of other Hall of Famers? At the time, Rice’s 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, his 101.5 sacks were more than Hall of Famers Michael Strahan and Jason Taylor.

Rice 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 only that, but “The Sackmasta” had eight seasons in his career with double-digit sacks, which ties him for the seventh-most in NFL history, trailing only Hall of Famers Bruce Smith, Reggie White, Julius Peppers, Kevin Greene, John Randle and Claude Humphrey. That’s obviously elite, Hall of Fame company.

Add to all of that the fact that Simeon Rice was a core contributor for one of the most dominant defenses of all time, and there’s even more reason he should have a bust in Canton. The 2002 Buccaneer defense already features Hall of Famers in Warren Sapp, Derrick Brooks, John Lynch and Ronde Barber. Unfortunately, that’s been used as an argument against Rice’s candidacy, as some have said it’s difficult to induct a fifth member of the same defense into the Hall.

Former Bucs DE Simeon Rice & Former Vikings QB Daunte Culpepper – Photo by: USA Today

Pro Football Hall of Famer and Bucs Ring of Honor member Tony Dungy, who coached Rice in 2001, pushed back against that argument during 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 co-owner Bryan Glazer put it best when introducing Rice for his Ring of Honor induction press conference back in May.

“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,” Glazer said. “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.”

It truly is time to rectify that oversight. The Bucs will finally be inducting Simeon Rice into their Ring of Honor inside Raymond James Stadium on Sunday, and when Pro Football Hall of Fame voting rolls around again next year, it’s time for Rice to get that call, too.

He earned it.