TAMPA — Simeon Rice danced between plays, grooving to the steady beat of the stadium music. His singsong way of talking was as smooth and sudden as his burst off the edge during a pass rush.
At 6-foot-5, 260 pounds with long arms, Rice had a knack for not only sacking the quarterback but swatting the football from his hands.
Advertisement
When he signed as a free agent from the Cardinals in 2001, the Bucs had lunch pail-like defensive stars such as Warren Sapp, Derrick Brooks, John Lynch and Ronde Barber, all who wound up in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
They were already great players on a great defense. Rice made them even better.
“He really was the last piece to the defensive puzzle,” former Bucs coach Tony Dungy said. “The dominant pass rusher off the edge that we didn’t have. He was the complementary threat to Sapp inside.
“What he had to do was learn to practice hard and play hard every play. Once he learned all these games are going to be meaningful and the defense needed him every play to win the big games, he was a force.”
Advertisement
Rice’s numbers are Hall of Fame-worthy, with 122 career sacks in 12 NFL seasons. His accolades include NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year in 1996, three Pro Bowls and first-team All Pro in 2002.
He still is regarded as one of the Bucs’ best free-agent signings, agreeing to a five-year, $34 million contract after spending his first four seasons with the Cardinals.
Rice, 51, will become the 16th member of the Bucs Ring of Honor, joining Lee Roy Selmon, John McKay, Jimmie Giles, Paul Gruber, Sapp, Brooks, Mike Alstott, Doug Williams, Jon Gruden, Lynch, Dungy, Barber, Malcolm Glazer, Monte Kiffin and Bruce Arians.
The Bucs set the table for the honor by having him announce their second- and third-round picks in the NFL draft last month in Green Bay.
Advertisement
On and off the field, there’s never been a player quite like Rice for the Bucs.
“A lot of guys see the complexity of the game,” Rice would say. “I see the simplicity.”
With Rice drawing double teams on the outside, Sapp and Brooks were able to do even more damage in the middle of the defense.
Rice easily could have been the Most Valuable Player of Super Bowl 37. He wreaked havoc in that game with two sacks, five tackles and a forced fumble. But the award went to safety Dexter Jackson, who had two of the Bucs’ five interceptions of Raiders quarterback Rich Gannon.
The Bucs had the No. 1 defense in the NFL in 2002, and Rice was a big reason why.
Advertisement
When Gruden improved the offense in his first year, adding players such as Michael Pittman, Keenan McCardell and Joe Jurevicius, the Bucs took off.
“When Jon got the offense going and they were putting points on the board like they were in ’02, teams had to throw to keep up,” Dungy said, “and (Rice) became even more important.”
In 2017, at age 43, Rice offered to come out of retirement, 10 seasons removed from his last game, and rejoin the Bucs to provide a pass rush.
He was serious.
“There’s chronological age and then there’s your fitness age,” Rice said at the time. “They say, ‘He’s 43.’ But I still train three times a day. Why? Because it’s a habit. I’m still doing 360-degree dunks. They won’t even see me coming.”
Advertisement
Now, everyone will see Rice’s name and No. 97 hanging inside Raymond James Stadium as the newest member of the Bucs Ring of Honor.
• • •
Sign up for our Sports Today newsletter to get daily updates on the Bucs, Rays, Lightning and college football across Florida.
Every weekday, tune into our Sports Day Tampa Bay podcast to hear reporter Rick Stroud break down the biggest stories in Tampa Bay sports.
Never miss out on the latest with your favorite Tampa Bay sports teams. Follow our coverage on X and Facebook.