Bucs owner/co-chairman Bryan Glazer embraces Simeon Rice, who officially will be inducted into the Ring of Honor during halftime of the Nov. 30 game against the Cardinals.

TAMPA — Tears streamed down his face and his voice broke, surprising Simeon Rice.

He had just finished watching his 2-year-old son, James, view a highlight tape of his six seasons with the Bucs. Play after play, the All-Pro defensive end beat blocks to take the quarterback to the ground, stripping the football in the process.

When he reached the podium at One Buc Place, announced by owner/co-chairman Bryan Glazer as the newest player elected to the Bucs Ring of Honor, Rice’s composure slipped as he talked about the death of his parents a decade ago. Mom Evelyn passed in 2015 followed by dad Henry in 2016.

“I didn’t know how much (the game) really meant to me until I see my little son, James, sitting over there watching me,” Rice said Monday, “because he never got a chance to see it but his grandparents did. And football was a game for me where I wanted to honor my mother and father.

“I didn’t shed many tears over there, but it was something that always resonated in my heart. ... Two parents that came together collectively to build the family we have and now their name is being represented in a light they couldn’t even imagine.”

Simeon Rice gets emotional when talking about his deceased parents on Monday. "Football was a game for me where I wanted to honor my mother and father."

At age 51, Rice still looks like he could put on some pads and get the Bucs 10 sacks.

That’s because Rice averaged more than that each year for 12 seasons. He finished with 122 for his career.

By the time Rice arrived as a free agent with the Bucs in 2001, he already was one of the NFL’s brightest stars. The third overall pick of the Cardinals in the 1996 NFL draft, Rice was the NFL’s Defensive Rookie of the Year. In his fourth season in Arizona, he had 16.5 sacks and was named to the Pro Bowl.

As a free agent, Rice looked for a new home, considering the New York Giants and his home-state Chicago Bears. He grew up in Mount Carmel, Illinois, dreaming of being Walter Payton until he grew out of the running back position.

“It was between here, New York and Chicago,” Rice said. “When I had that meeting with Chicago, it didn’t go well. (Bears vice president of player personnel) Mark Hatley said I was like Michael Johnson — all highlights, no substance. At the same meeting, I was on the phone with (Bucs general manager) Rich McKay ... I said, ‘If you bring me down, you’ll be in the Super Bowl either this year or next year. Trust me.’ "

Retired NFL defensive end Simeon Rice holds his 2-year-old son James during a Monday news conference where he was announced as the 16th inductee into the Bucs Ring of Honor.

Rice had watched the Bucs nearly beat the Rams in the NFC Championship Game to end their 1999 season. Had he been on that team, he said Ricky Proehl would not have caught the game-winning touchdown from Kurt Warner with 4:44 remaining.

The Bucs defense already was elite, with future Pro Football Hall of Fame players such as Warren Sapp, Derrick Brooks, John Lynch and Ronde Barber. But defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin and defensive line coach Rod Marinelli knew Rice would put them over the top.

Joining a defensive line that was led by Sapp proved challenging for Rice at first.

Their relationship was complicated at best and confrontational at worst.

“Immediately, Rod set the room on fire,” Rice recalled. “He said, ‘This is what our expectations are out of you two.’ It was kind of rocky from the beginning and then I realized it wasn’t all sweet.

“Meanwhile, I got 99 (Sapp) talking all crazy to me. I said, ‘Don’t worry about me. I’m going to be all right.’ Long story short, as the days and the weeks progressed, there was a high level of respect for myself and for him. We started really respecting each other as opposed to two entities colliding because we had a big argument. ...

“He understood me and I understood him and I loved playing with him. We became brothers because I think we truly respected each other.”

Sapp’s sack numbers went down from his career-high 16.5 in 2000 to six in 2001 and 7.5 in 2002. But the defense thrived.

During the 2002 season, the Bucs upset the Eagles 27-10 in the NFC Championship Game, beating up Rice’s former high school teammate, quarterback Donovan McNabb. Rice had two sacks, five tackles and a forced fumble in the 48-21 Super Bowl 37 win over the Raiders and easily could have been named Most Valuable Player. (It went to safety Dexter Jackson, who had two interceptions in the game.)

“I felt like any one of us on defense could’ve won it,” Rice said.

Rice says the Bucs 2002 defense should be considered the second-best in NFL history only to the 1985 Bears because of their ability to score. The Bucs defense recorded nine defensive touchdowns during that season.

Not coincidentally, Rice will be inducted into the Ring of Honor during halftime of the Nov. 30 game against the Cardinals.

Rice has been asked many times if he feels his career is worthy of a gold jacket. Without hesitation he says it is.

“It’s time to rectify that oversight,” Glazer said of Rice not being in the Hall of Fame.

But Rice doesn’t want to diminish this honor.

“I looked at that young boy on the film and I’m like, ‘That boy loved to compete,’ ” Rice said. “That boy was a dog. That boy was going to be there at 10:30 at night. I understood the mindset of that young boy on film and it brought back all these emotions. I love this game of football. I’ve always loved this game of football.”

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