TAMPA, Fla. — Simeon Rice terrorized quarterbacks during his six-year run with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 2001 to 2006.
The team announced that Rice, one of the most prolific pass rushers in NFL history and a cornerstone in the team’s Super Bowl victory in 2002, will become the 16th inductee into the Buccaneers Ring of Honor at Raymond James Stadium in 2025.
WATCH: Simeon Rice to become 16th member of Buccaneers' Ring of Honor
Rice was overcome with emotion after a short highlight video played during an announcement ceremony on Monday.
“The tears are for my parents,” Rice said. “I don’t think I ever reconciled with my father passing away. But that’s okay. I poured my heart into this sport.”
His blood, sweat, and tears resulted in 69.5 sacks as a Buccaneer, the third-most in team history.
Rice became the fifth defensive player and eighth overall member of Tampa Bay’s 2002 Super Bowl-winning team to receive this distinction, joining fellow legends Rondé Barber, Derrick Brooks, John Lynch, and Warren Sapp.
“Tampa made it a place where I could be myself,” he said. “I felt like the men that I played with allowed me to be the best version of myself. They were just as rowdy as me, just as complex as me. We were all aligned together to crystallize our career and be the best version of ourselves.”
Rice’s two-year-old son James was also in the room and watched his dad’s highlight reel. Rice said he didn’t expect James to react with such excitement, but he wants his son to know one thing.
“Commitment, like, when you commit to something, you do it,” Rice said. “I want him to know, I want James to know, that anything that you believe, you can do.”
Rice joined the Bucs as an unrestricted free agent, signing in 2001 after five seasons with the Arizona Cardinals, who had made him the third overall pick in the 1996 draft.
His induction will take place during a halftime ceremony when Tampa Bay hosts the Cardinals at Raymond James Stadium on Sunday, Nov 30, for a 1 p.m. kickoff.
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