The Bucs celebrated their fiftieth season in a wide range of methods, together with lastly inducting Simeon Rice into the Ring of Honor, which led many to imagine the group would proceed to acknowledge franchise legends within the years forward.
That won’t occur in 2026.
Tampa Bay Occasions’ Rick Stroud revealed as a lot on Tuesday morning, creating a major missed alternative because the record of deserving candidates continues to develop.
Bucs won’t have a Ring of Honor Inductee this season. Lavonte David would’ve been an apparent alternative. He’ll wait.
Why Not Induct Lavonte David Now? There Are A Couple Of Potential Causes
As famous in Rick Stroud’s X put up above, the Bucs had a major likelihood to induct Lavonte David into the workforce’s Ring of Honor.
Bucs ILB Lavonte David – Photograph by: Cliff Welch/PR
The choice to not simply but might be for a few causes. Tampa Bay determined to attend till Warren Sapp and Derrick Brooks have been on their strategy to the Professional Soccer Corridor of Fame to induct them into the Ring of Honor. In Rondé Barber’s case, he needed to wait till 2019 to be inducted, despite the fact that he retired in 2012.
The method taken with Barber may possible be the trail the workforce takes with David. Not as a result of he isn’t a franchise nice, however as a result of the group might imagine ready till David enters the Corridor of Fame dialog — because it did with Barber and now seems to be doing with Simeon Rice — creates a extra significant second.
It could give his legacy the right time to marinate after his tear-jerking retirement press convention and becoming send-off from the group. It could additionally permit David’s profession to obtain the nationwide appreciation it has lengthy deserved.
Bucs Legends Are All For Hardy Nickerson Being Inducted
Whereas a number of candidates deserve consideration, Hardy Nickerson has arguably the strongest case amongst these nonetheless ready.
Nickerson got here to Tampa Bay as a 28-year-old free-agent signing in 1993 and left a right away imprint on the Bucs’ protection.
On the time, John Lynch was only a rookie, and it took a few years for reinforcements to reach as Warren Sapp, Derrick Brooks, and Ronde Barber would quickly be a part of the fold. As these future Corridor of Famers have been simply getting their ft beneath them, it was Nickerson’s veteran presence that set the tone for a way dominant the unit would develop into.
Former Bucs LBs Hardy Nickerson and Derrick Brooks – Photograph by: Cliff Welch/PR
His greatest statistical season got here throughout his first yr, as he recorded a jaw-dropping 214 tackles, which made him a straightforward first-team All-Professional choice. Over seven seasons with the workforce, Nickerson recorded 926 tackles, 16 pressured fumbles, 9 sacks, and 7 interceptions whereas incomes 5 Professional Bowl nods. Though he didn’t stick round lengthy sufficient to see the fruits of his labor, his influence was felt within the years after he moved on. By then, Lynch, Sapp, Brooks, and Barber all turned stars, and Simeon Rice was the lacking piece added in 2001.
It’s simple for Nickerson to be forgotten about in comparison with the gamers above, however Mike Alstott and Tony Dungy don’t see it that means. The legendary fullback and Corridor of Fame head coach chimed in about him being a deserving Ring of Honor member showing on the Pewter Report Podcast final week.
Former Bucs MLB Hardy Nickerson – Photograph by: Cliff Welch/PR
Alstott, who noticed him up shut and private on the alternative aspect of the soccer, believes he was very important to the workforce’s turnaround and recalled a terrific story when he first noticed Nickerson in motion.
“I think Hardy was an instrumental [part], especially when I got here as far as his leadership and mentality,” Alstott stated. I keep in mind this — 1996 we’re in coaching camp. We have now our conditions, proper? We’re backed up, so we’re on the 1-yard line. [Jerry Ellison] was the beginning fullback after I obtained right here. That is the primary or second day we put pads on, so we undergo all these objective line [drills], backed up. Hardy comes downhill, and it’s an iso [run]. He simply laid out [Jerry] — simply laid him out.
“Hardy takes off his helmet; this is before Dungy got to him. Hardy takes off his helmet and slams it right there at the 3-yard line after he fricking laid out the fullback. Fricking earpads go flying and he’s just screaming, ‘Get me off the field before I kill someone!’ It was like, ‘Huh, this will be fun.’ That was the last antics you probably saw because coach Dungy snagged him up a little bit and said, ‘Hey, we don’t play that around here.’ Hardy was a great mentor, great leader…”
It could have taken some scaling again the depth initially, however Dungy spoke about how Nickerson deserves to be inducted primarily based on how a lot he impacted what would go on to be probably the greatest defenses in fashionable NFL historical past.
“I think he is deserving,” Dungy added. “He was the leader, that was one of the iconic defenses that was put together, and he was the leader of that group. I got here in ’96, he did play for me in Pittsburgh so he kind of knew the routine, he knew the expectations. It was very clear from the first day that I walked in the door, Hardy was the leader on that team, that group. We had some really good years, and unfortunately, he didn’t make it to that Super Bowl team, but I think he laid the foundation.”
What About The Voice Of The Bucs, Gene Deckerhoff?
Excluding late proprietor Malcolm Glazer, all the Bucs Ring of Honor inductees are both former gamers or coaches. Whereas the group is usually unique to that realm, that shouldn’t be one thing that retains longtime radio play-by-play announcer Gene Deckerhoff out of the equation.
Deckerhoff, who hung up the headset after being the voice of the workforce from 1989 to 2025, has a singular place inside workforce historical past. His iconic “Touchdown, Tampa Bay!”, “Fire the cannons!”, and even “Alstott up the gut!” spanned throughout 5 totally different a long time and a number of generations of followers who grew up listening to him break down video games.
Florida State, who he additionally known as males’s basketball and soccer video games for, not too long ago named the radio sales space inside Doak Campbell Stadium after Deckerhoff.
That honor may have performed an element in Tampa Bay delaying his Ring of Honor induction for subsequent yr, but when they’re to do it, there isn’t a higher time than now to correctly acknowledge the 81-year-old’s contributions to the franchise.
5 Different Former Bucs Gamers Value Contemplating
Whereas Lavonte David, Hardy Nickerson, and Gene Deckerhoff needs to be among the many subsequent names to be inducted, they aren’t the one ones. These 5 former gamers additionally deserve some degree of consideration.
James WilderGerald McCoy Ali MarpetTom BradyShaq Barrett
The names above are listed by how lengthy they’ve been ready.
Brady’s induction feels inevitable given his standing as the best quarterback in NFL historical past. It could have been an comprehensible alternative this season after being inducted into the Patriots Ring of Honor final yr.
Former Patriots and Bucs QB Tom Brady – Photograph by: IMAGN Pictures
Wilder was a Bucs offensive staple within the Nineteen Eighties and was the centerpiece of it for a few years, however he has been handed over quite a few instances, and one wonders if he’ll ever get in. McCoy preceded the 2020 Tremendous Bowl workforce, however he was a vibrant spot for the workforce throughout the darkish instances of the 2010s alongside David. Marpet and Barrett have been very important items in Tampa Bay successful its second Tremendous Bowl, though they’re within the subsequent tier of names that can be in queue for some time.
Whether or not the following inductee is Lavonte David, Hardy Nickerson, Gene Deckerhoff or one other franchise nice, one factor is obvious: leaving the Bucs Ring of Honor empty in 2026 is a large, missed alternative.
