Chiseling the Mt. Rushmore of Tampa Bay Buccaneers greats

DT Warren Sapp

Sidenote: imagine changing these beautiful uniforms…

Warren Sapp was one of the leaders of the nasty early-2000s defense that practically single-handedly won the Buccaneers a championship under Jon Gruden in 2002. He is the franchise leader in sacks, and that record is now safe after Gerald McCoy departed, who was 23 sacks behind him; to be fair the record was safe before as well as McCoy would have had to play about five more years at the current pace.

While Selmon would have this record if sacks were recorded in his time, we must go with Sapp here. Another Buccaneers’ Hall of Famer, Sapp was inducted into the football Mecca in 2013 after an illustrious 13 year career, all but four of which came in Tampa Bay.

During his nine years in the pewter and red after being selected as the 12th overall pick in the 1995 draft, Sapp recorded 77 sacks, 64 tackles behind the line of scrimmage, and 15 forced fumbles; quarterback hits were not a recorded stat until 2006. He was named to seven Pro Bowls, an All-Pro four times, and was the 1999 AD Defensive Player of the Year.

Two down, two to go; who will join Selmon and Sapp on the Mt. Rushmore of Buccaneers greats?