Bucs Gameday

Super Bowl-Winning Buccaneers Defensive End Snubbed for 2025 Hall of Fame Bid

This crucial piece of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' 2002 defense will have to keep waiting for a Hall of Fame nod.

River Wells

Dec 05, 2004; Tampa, FL, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers lineman Simeon Rice in action at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Imagn Images (©) Copyright 2004 by Preston Mack
Dec 05, 2004; Tampa, FL, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers lineman Simeon Rice in action at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Imagn Images (©) Copyright 2004 by Preston Mack / Imagn Images
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A Buccaneers legend who contributed to Tampa Bay's 2002 Super Bowl run has been left out the Pro Football Hall of Fame's 25 semifinalist selection once again.

Buccaneers edge rusher Simeon Rice, who was a part of Tampa Bay's vaunted 2002 defense, had initially made the cut to 50 players for the Hall of Fame's 2025 class, but did not make the cut to the next 25. Numerous teammates of his on that defense, including safety John Lynch, linebacker Derrick Brooks, cornerback Ronde Barber and defensive tackle Warren Sapp are in the Pro Football Hall of Fame and are members of Tampa Bay's Ring of Honor — another distinction Rice does not have.

Rice began his career in Arizona with the Cardinals for the first five years of his career before signing with the Bucs in free agency in 2001. During his tenure in Tampa Bay, rice netted 69.5 sacks and 122.0 total sacks over the course of his career, bringing in one First Team All-Pro (2002) and two Second Team All-Pros (1999, 2003).

Rice is still waiting. And in an interview with SB Nation in 2015, he made his thoughts on this matter known quite clearly.

"There's no Hall of Fame without me in it," Rice said. "There's just not. I dominated when I played. There was nobody better at my position. Nobody."

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River Wells
RIVER WELLS

River Wells is a sports journalist from St. Petersburg, Florida, who has covered the Tampa Bay Buccaneers since 2023. He graduated with a journalism degree from the University of Florida in 2021. You can follow him on Twitter @riverhwells.

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