The Bucs’ 2023 schedule recently came out and fans are eagerly awaiting the return of the Bucco Bruce creamsicle uniforms. An announcement for that game has not been made, nor has there been an announcement for which Tampa Bay legend will be inducted into the Bucs Ring of Honor.

Tampa Bay has 13 members in the Bucs Ring of Honor. There are the names of nine former players on the walls of Raymond James Stadium, including defensive end Lee Roy Selmon, tight end Jimmie Giles, offensive tackle Paul Gruber, defensive tackle Warren Sapp, linebacker Derrick Brooks, fullback Mike Alstott, quarterback Doug Williams, safety John Lynch and cornerback Ronde Barber.

Late owner/president Malcolm Glazer, head coach Tony Dungy, defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin, and head coach Bruce Arians are the non-players who have been inducted – with Arians being last year’s inductee.

The team typically reveals the new Bucs Ring of Honor inductee over the summer, so the 2023 recipient should be known soon. But which former Buccaneer will it be? Here is a short list of possible candidates.

Possible 2023 Bucs Ring Of Honor Inductees

QB Tom Brady

Bucs QB Tom Brady – Photo by: USA Today

Brady only played three seasons in Tampa Bay, but they were some of the most memorable in Bucs history. The greatest quarterback of all time helped the team win Super Bowl LV in 2020 and then win the NFC South division title with a franchise-record 13-4 record. Brady retired after the 2022 season at age 45 after leading the Bucs to back-to-back division titles.

He also set several team single-season passing records, passing for 5,316 yards in 2021 and 43 touchdowns. Brady’s 733 pass attempts and 390 completions in 2022 were not only the most in Tampa Bay history, but also NFL records.

The Bucs would need to get with Brady to see if he’s interested in being inducted this year. And it would be quite something if Tampa Bay beat New England to the punch and put him in the Bucs Ring of Honor first. The team inducted Arians last year just months after he retired. It would make sense to put Brady in next.

DE Simeon Rice

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

Before the Bucs inducted Arians into the ring, it was Monte Kiffin’s turn. If the Bucs want to continue to put members of Tampa Bay’s legendary 2002 Super Bowl team into the ring, Rice would be an ideal choice.

Rice was a force as a pass rusher during the team’s Super Bowl run. Five of his six postseason sacks in Tampa Bay came in 2002 along with three forced fumbles and a fumble recovery. He recorded two of those sacks and one of those forced fumbles in Super Bowl XXXVII.

Rice was also the only Buccaneer to have five straight double-digit sack seasons in Tampa Bay. His 69.5 career sacks in Tampa Bay are third-most in team history behind Lee Roy Selmon (78.5) and Warren Sapp (77). Rice made two Pro Bowls and was a first-team All-Pro during his time in Tampa Bay.

LB Hardy Nickerson

Former Bucs LB Hardy Nickerson – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Nickerson is overdue to join the Bucs Ring of Honor. He came to Tampa Bay as a “Plan B” free agent in 1993 during the darkest stretch in franchise history. The team hadn’t been to the playoffs in 11 years when Nickerson came to the Bucs from the Steelers and he was shocked at how different the two franchises were ran.

As the late, great Mark Cook once wrote “Nickerson soon got to work. Ruling the locker room with an iron fist, one that he wasn’t afraid to use on teammates who he thought were coasting.” His 214 tackles in 1993 are still a Bucs single-season record. While Tony Dungy, Derrick Brooks, Warren Sapp and John Lynch are given credit for turning the Bucs around in the late 1990s, Nickerson’s leadership was the catalyst.

Nickerson became a five-time Pro Bowler in Tampa Bay, amassing 1,028 tackles, 13 forced fumbles, nine sacks, and seven interceptions. The Bucs are scheduled to wear their throwback creamsicle uniforms once again this year, and it would only be fitting to induct Nickerson into the Bucs Ring of Honor during that game. He helped lead Tampa Bay to a long-awaited playoff win in 1997, and a division title in 1999, including a trip to the NFC Championship Game that year.

RB James Wilder

Former Bucs RB James Wilder – Photo courtesy of the Buccaneers

It’s doubtful that the team inducts Wilder into the Bucs Ring of Honor. Through the years, there has been little to no buzz around his candidacy. The problem for Wilder is that he didn’t play for the Bucs when the Glazers owned the team, so there are no personal ties like there were for other inductees like former left tackle Paul Gruber and former quarterback Doug Williams, who was a personnel scout with the team in the early 2000s.

Still, the Glazers have inducted former Bucs they have no connection with like former tight end Jimmie Giles. Wilder was a rookie in 1981 and played on two Bucs playoff teams and set several records in 1984 and throughout his career that still stand in Tampa Bay today. It’s fair to say that Wilder, who made the Pro Bowl in 1984 and was a second-team All-Pro, is the greatest Bucs running back of all time.

Here are some of the records Wilder still holds today.

Most career rushing attempts by a running back: 1,575 – 1981-89
Most career rushing yards by a running back: 5,957 – 1981-89
Most rushing yards by a running back in a single season: 1,544 – 1984
Most carries by a running back in a single season: 407 – 1984
Most rushing touchdowns in a season: 13 – 1984
Most receptions by a running back in a single season: 85 – 1984
Most receiving yards by a running back in a single season: 675 – 1984
Most total offensive yards by a Buccaneer in a single season: 2,229 – 1984

DT Gerald McCoy

Bucs DT Gerald McCoy – Photo by: Mary Holt/PR

McCoy just announced his retirement this year after an 11-year career. He spent the first nine years of his career in Tampa Bay as the team’s No. 1 draft pick. McCoy wound up as one of the most-decorated Buccaeers in team history with six Pro Bowl appearances and was a first-team All-Pro in 2013 after recording a career-high 9.5 sacks. McCoy also was a leader in the Tampa Bay community with his off-the-field charity work.

The problem with McCoy’s candidacy is that he was never on a Bucs team that made the playoffs during his nine-year career. The team has never inducted a player into the Bucs Ring of Honor that wasn’t on a playoff team. Is McCoy’s six Pro Bowl berths, which is an individual achievement, enough for consideration?

McCoy did rack up 54.5 sacks in his Bucs career, but never reached double digits in any single year like Bucs Ring of Honor members Warren Sapp and Lee Roy Selmon did. And McCoy ranks fourth on the franchise’s all-time sack list behind Selmon, Sapp and Simeon Rice, who probably deserves to get inducted into the Bucs Ring of Honor before McCoy does. Out of the five possible candidates listed, McCoy’s candidacy is probably the weakest given that he did not set a single franchise record or make the playoffs.