Simeon Rice's pro career began in 1996, when the Arizona Cardinals drafted him third overall. Playing at Defensive End, Rice proved his worth instantly with a 12.5 Sack year and won the Defensive Rookie of the Year Award. Rice played with the Cardinals for five seasons and had three 10-plus-sack years there, peaking with 16.5 in 1998, which was good enough for second overall.
Rice would sign with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2001, adding to an already potent defensive corps. He would be part of Tampa’s dominating Super Bowl win in 2002, and he would again finish second in Sacks (15.5) and was named a First Team All-Pro. The year after, he went to his third Pro Bowl, again was second in Sacks with 15.5, and led the NFL in Forced Fumbles (6). With the Bucs, Rice had five consecutive 11-plus sack seasons (2001-05).
He played until 2007 and retired with 122.0 Sacks, which was phenomenal considering how little he faced the pass rush in comparison to his peers.
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