Next?
It’ll be interesting to see if Rondé Barber has any legit sway with Team Glazer.
The iconic Hall of Famer says the next Buccaneers Ring of Honor inductee after Simeon Rice this year is an easy choice.
Barber made it clear recently on the WFLA-TV streaming show bearing his name that he believes Gerald McCoy, Donnie Abraham, James Wilder and Tom Brady are Ring-worthy. But there is distance between them and one man.
> “There’s only one at No. 1 in my list here,” Barber said.
>
> “The No. 1 on my list, like without a doubt, the next person to go into the Bucs’ Ring of Honor needs to be Hardy Nickerson. … When I got here in 1997, there was a presence. It was like a Darth Vader presence walking around the locker room and on the football field. Like that just commanded respect in the way of doing your job, was one person, and he was No. 56.
>
> “Made \[five\] Pro Bowls while he was in Tampa; he was AP All-Pro twice. The man had a 214-tackle season.”
Barber went on to say how Nickerson served as Tony Dungy’s mouthpiece and it was Nickerson who executed the mid-1990’s change of culture among players.
For those unaware, Nickerson was a Buccaneers middle linebacker for seven seasons, 1993-1999. He showed up in Tampa as a veteran free agent and was well worth the money. Pro Football Reference lists him as the NFL’s 10th-leading tackler since 1987.
Joe doubts there’s a blueprint or strict criteria Team Glazer follows to make its Ring of Honor choice. So the next pick sure is a mystery.
Joe still can’t figure out why Team Glazer punted on formally honoring the 20th anniversary of its first Super Bowl team three years ago. Fans would have loved it and, well, most franchises like to devote a game day to celebrating that achievement.