The Pro Football Hall of Fame revealed its Class of 2023 on Thursday evening during the annual NFL Honors extravaganza and Bucs' legend, Rondé Barber, was one of the five players to get the coveted call. Barber will now be immortalized in Canton for his achievements on the field, joining an elite fraternity. The honor arrived in Barber's sixth year of eligibility and third-straight as a finalist.
He joins defensive end Lee Roy Selmon (Class of 1995), defensive tackle Warren Sapp (2013), linebacker Derrick Brooks (2014), head coach Tony Dungy (2016) and safety John Lynch (2021) among those enshrined who spent at least six seasons as a member of the Buccaneers organization.
Barber was drafted by the Buccaneers in the third round (No. 66 overall) of the 1997 NFL Draft. He spent all 16 seasons of his NFL career with Tampa Bay, finishing as the franchise's all-time leader in both games played (241) and games started (232). His 232 starts are tied for the third-most all-time among defensive backs since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger, per TruMedia records. Barber also recorded a streak of 215 consecutive starts – tied for the seventh-longest in NFL history.
Over the course of his professional career, Barber amassed 1,428 tackles – which stand as the second-most in franchise history behind only Derrick Brooks – 28.0 sacks, 47 interceptions, eight interception return touchdowns, 243 passes defensed, 15 forced fumbles, 11 fumble recoveries and six additional touchdowns on fumble returns and blocked/deflected punts. A member of Tampa Bay's Super Bowl XXXVII championship team, Barber also played in 10 playoff games with nine starts, recording 50 tackles, 11 passes defensed, two interceptions (one returned for a touchdown), one sack and one fumble recovery. Barber is the only player in NFL history to record 25-or-more sacks and 40-or-more interceptions and one of just four players with 20-plus sacks and 35-plus interceptions, joining fellow Hall of Famers LeRoy Butler, Brian Dawkins and Charles Woodson. Barber's 14 non-offensive touchdowns are the fourth-most in NFL regular season history, while his nine interception return touchdowns between the regular season and postseason combined rank seventh in league annals.
Barber was a member of the formidable defensive unit that led the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to their first Super Bowl title. His most memorable play in that season was sealing the win in the 2002 NFC Championship game vs. the Eagles by taking a Donovan McNabb pass 92 yards for a pick six in the fourth quarter. Barber pioneered the modern slot cornerback position. Warren Sapp was the stellar three-technique defensive tackle, Derrick Brooks defined the weakside linebacker position and Barber, defined the slot cornerback role. He was effective as a Cover Two cornerback on the outside and was used interchangeably as a slot corner on the inside.
In recent years, the importance of the slot cornerback role has risen to the forefront to combat the increase of pass-heavy attacks and 11 personnel groupings. It requires a versatile skillset: physicality against the run, tackling ability and blitzing prowess. In the modern era, a nickel corner is a starter in the league with three cornerbacks on the field and must be physical enough to deal with the run game and defend receivers in a two-way go, in addition to blitzing. High football intelligence is required, and Rondé Barber was the original.Teams frequently move their top cornerbacks inside to guard the slot and that trend was what the Bucs did with Barber for a decade-and-a-half. Now, Barber will receive the long-awaited bust in Canton for his impact on the gridiron.
