Hardy Nickerson Makes His Case For The Ring Of Honor
June 10th, 2026
First, Hardy Nickerson didn’t want to go there.
Talking to Peter Blake on The Sports Web, the former Bucs All-Pro middle linebacker (two times!) was going to leave his case for the Buccaneers Ring of Honor to others. Nickerson was going the humble route.
And then Blake got him to chime in a little.
It seems Nickerson believes his five-time Pro Bowl, seven-year Bucs career, is worthy. There’s no question that Nickerson was a major catalyst in taking the Bucs defense in the 1990s from weak to legitimately legendary.
“Well, I mean, you know, I think everything speaks for itself. I came in here and became a five-time Pro Bowler, All-Pro player,” Nickerson said. “I put in the work. I was team MVP a number of times. You know, I put in the work.”
Joe heartily would endorse Nickerson landing in the Ring of Honor. If you didn’t see him play, well, he was tough as nails and damn, that guy could tackle. And just about every legend from that era of Bucs football credits Nickerson with setting the defensive tone and leading the way.