The NFL announced the 25 Semi-finalists for the 2020 Pro Football Hall of Fame, and among the semifinalists are three former Buccaneers.
This afternoon, the NFL announced the 25 semifinalists to potentially be a part of the 2020 Pro Football Hall of Fame class. Among these names are defensive end Simeon Rice, cornerback Rondé Barber, and safety John Lynch. This will be the second time Rice has been nominated, third time Barber has been nominated, and eighth time Lynch has been nominated.
Simeon Rice is one of the most underrated defensive players in NFL history. In his career, Rice had 122 sacks which currently ranks 20th all time. In his six years in Tampa, Simeon Rice compiled 69.5 sacks, 19 forced fumbles, and 242 tackles.
Cornerback Rondé Barber played his entire 16 year career in Tampa after being drafted in 1997. Barber had a very unique statistic that still stands in NFL history. Rondé Barber is one of two players in NFL history with 40+ interceptions and 20+ sacks in their career (potential Hall of Fame Defensive Back Charles Woodson is the other).
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Barber finished his career with 1,231 tackles, 28 sacks, 47 interceptions, 15 forced fumbles, and 14 touchdowns. Rondé Barber is known for clinching the Buccaneers berth to Super Bowl 37 after intercepting quarterback Donovan McNabb in the NFC Championship Game and closing down the Philadelphia Eagles stadium in the process.
Safety John Lynch played the majority of his career with the Buccaneers but finished his career with the Denver Broncos. In Lynch’s 11 seasons in Tampa, he compiled 528 tackles, 7 forced fumbles, and 23 interceptions. Lynch has been nominated eight different times as a semifinalist but continues to be overlooked.
There is a 12% chance that the Buccaneers get a player inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame this upcoming year. All three of these men are very deserving and hopefully the voters will see this with guys like Troy Polamalu, Patrick Willis, and Reggie Wayne being added to the ballot this year.