Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 30 greatest players in franchise history

Every team has had a true shutdown cornerback that transformed the defense. For the Buccaneers, that cornerback was Ronde Barber. Without him, one could argue that the team would not have reached the playoffs seven times in 11 years.

From 1997 to 2012, Barber held down the Buccaneers secondary, and led the team to great success. Truthfully, no conversation regarding the best cornerbacks of all-time is complete without mentioning Barber. That is a testament to how good he was as a player.

Barber is the interception leader in Tampa Bay history by a large margin, recording 47 interceptions in 16 seasons. The next closest? Donnie Abraham with 31 picks. Saying Barber was the best cornerback in team history is putting it lightly. Incredibly, Barber returned eight of those 47 to the house for a touchdown, which ranks eighth all-time in league history.

Like several other players on this list, Barber was a pivotal member of the 2002 team that won the Super Bowl. Barber was huge in the team’s 2002 playoff push, recording two interceptions in three games, including one for a touchdown.

A team and league legend in his own right, Barber lands at No. 4 here, only behind the three undisputed best players in franchise history. His record for career interceptions, as well as his single-season record of 10 in 2001 with both likely never be broken.

Great cornerbacks only come around once so often, luckily, the Buccaneers capitalized on having Barber roaming in their secondary for the better part of two decades.