Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 15 greatest pass rushers in franchise history

Looking back at that epic Super Bowl team from the 2002 NFL season, players like Warren Sapp and Simeon Rice earned most of the credit for the success on defense, but Anthony “Booger” McFarland made his presence as well.

Selecting the former LSU star with the 15th overall pick in the 199 NFL Draft was another great decision made by the Buccaneers. It helped their defense emerge as a top unit all those years, and McFarland was always considered a favorite by the fan base.

Even though part of McFarland’s final year in the league consisted of him playing for the Indianapolis Colts during the 2006 NFL season, Buccaneers fans were still thrilled to see him earn an additional Super Bowl ring. However, the career-ending knee injury a few months later was difficult to watch.

Still, Tampa Bay fans will always appreciate the eight years they got to spend watching McFarland rack up 20 career sacks. They show just how effective of a pass rusher he truly was from the defensive interior.

Plenty of things stand out from McFarland’s career with the Buccaneers, but watching him go from limited action as a rookie, in which he failed to record a single start, to starting all 16 games as a sophomore in 2000, while recording 6.5 sacks (career high) was incredible.

Tampa Bay obviously would have loved to see things work out for the better in 2006 when they traded McFarland to Indianapolis. It would have been great to give him the opportunity to spend his entire career with the Buccaneers, but at least this turned out great for both parties.