The Five Buccaneers with the Most Sacks in Franchise History
1. Lee Roy Selmon, 78.5 career, 1976-84
Selmon was the first college draft pick in franchise history and still one of the best the team has ever made. He became the first Buccaneer enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 1995 and is on the short list for any "best player in team history" debate.
The former Oklahoma star had his rookie season shortened to just eight games and 5.0 sacks, but he jumped all the way to a career-best 13.0 sacks in 1977, getting to that figure in the last 14-game season in NFL history. He was a second-team Associated Press All-Pro after his 11-sack third season and made the first of six straight Pro Bowl appearances in his fourth campaign, 1979. He also won NFC Defensive Player of the Year honors that season as the linchpin of a Tampa Bay defense that ranked first in the league and led the franchise to its first postseason appearance. With his 11.0 sacks, this was the third of four double-digit seasons for Selmon.
Selmon's fourth double-digit sack season was 1983, when he had 11.0 once again. He would get his final 8.0 sacks in 1984 before suffering a neck injury in that year's Pro Bowl that landed him on injured reserve in 1985 and led to his retirement after that. Selmon tragically passed away at the age of 56 in 2011.
Selmon averaged 8.72 sacks per season across his nine years in Buccaneer orange.
2. Warren Sapp, 77.0 sacks, 1995-2003
Selmon has been the franchise's all-time sack leader since his second season and he still owns the mark today, but Sapp certainly got close. He's got a clear lead in franchise history among interior lineman, his ability to consistently get pressure on the quarterback up the middle is the main reason he was the second Buccaneer to make it into the Hall of Fame, and the first to do so in his initial year of eligibility.
Like Selmon, Sapp also earned an NFL Defensive Player of the Year award, doing so in 1999 after a 12.5 sack season that was instrumental in getting the Buccaneers to the NFC Championship Game. He was also a first-team AP All-Pro four times, a second-team selection in two other seasons and a Pro Bowler for seven straight years from 1997-2003.
Also like Selmon, Sapp didn't have a big sack campaign as a rookie. He was only in the starting lineup for half the season and finished with 3.0 QB takedowns. However, Tony Dungy and Monte Kiffin arrived the next year and Sapp was a perfect fit in their defense, instantly jumping to 9.0 sacks in 1996 and 10.5 in 1997. That was the first of his three double-digit sack seasons as a Buccaneer; he would have one more during four seasons in Oakland.
Sapp's sack production peaked in 2000, when he had a whopping 16.5 of them, an incredible number for an interior pass rusher. That set a new franchise single-season record at the time, which then stood for almost two decades before Shaquil Barrett came along. He averaged 8.56 across his nine seasons with the Buccaneers.
3. Simeon Rice 69.5 sacks, 2001-06
Simeon Rice, who will be the next person inducted into the Buccaneers Ring of Honor at Raymond James Stadium this season, was considered the final piece that put the Tampa Bay defense of the late '90s and early '00s over the top, making it one of the best in NFL history. The third-overall pick in the 1996 draft had played five seasons in Arizona before coming to Tampa in 2021, and from 1998-2005 he led the NFL with 101.5 sacks in that span, more than such contemporaries as current Hall of Famers Michael Strahan and Jason Taylor.
Rice topped double digits in each of his first five seasons in Tampa and had done so three other times in Arizona. The 2002 Tampa Bay defense led the NFL in points and yards allowed in what is widely considered one of the best single-season defensive performances by any team in league annals. Rice led that squad with 15.5 sacks, his best total as a Buccaneer and one behind the 16.5 he had for the Cardinals in 1999.
Rice had another 15.0 sack season in 2003 and is the only player in franchise history with multiple 15-sack campaigns. He made the Pro Bowl after both of those seasons; he was a first-team AP All-Pro selection in '02 and a second-team choice in '03. Rice was also a force in the playoffs, with seen sacks across five games as a Buccaneer, including two in Super Bowl XXXVII.
Rice's final season in Tampa was his only unproductive one with the team, as he finished with just 2.0 sacks in eight games played. He would wrap up his NFL career with eight games and one sack for the Broncos and Colts in 2007. In all, Rice finished with 122.0 sacks in his 12-year career.
As a Buccaneer, Rice averaged 11.58 sacks per season. If one removes his 2006 season, Rice averaged 13.5 sacks per season for Tampa Bay from 2001-05.