Ronde Barber: The Uncommon Bucs Hall of Famer

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“I set out to become uncommon,” said Bucs legend Ronde Barber during his induction speech into the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Saturday, August 5.

Flanked by former Bucs teammates and Hall of Famers Warren Sapp, Derrick Brooks, John Lynch and with Hall of Fame head coach Tony Dungy present, the 5-foot-10 finally stood tall among the legends of the game in Canton, Ohio after an illustrious 16-year career in Tampa Bay.

“My football journey that I’ve been on for 40 years has reached its end, that there’s nowhere else to go,” Barber said. “I can stop being an angry worker. I can stop trying to prove everyone wrong. I’ve come a long way in 26 years. After today, there will be 23 corners in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and I’m not like any one of them because I couldn’t be. I’m here because I refused to just be a guy. Ordinary was not an option.”

Bucs Hall of Fame CB Ronde Barber – Photo by: USA Today

But Ronde Barber was as common as they come at the start of his NFL career with the Bucs.

After the Bucs spent a third-round pick on cornerback Ronde Barber in 1997 the team spent a second-round selection on another cornerback, Brian Kelly, the next year.

Why? Because Barber was awful as a rookie.

He was ordinary – something he desperately did not want to be.

Finally earning some playing time early in the 1997 season, he got torched by wide receiver Rob Moore, who had eight catches for 147 yards and one touchdown – mostly against Barber – in Week 5 in a 19-18 win over the Phoenix Cardinals. Barber was benched for the rest of his rookie year until finally playing again in a 21-7 loss at Green Bay in the playoffs.

Back then Ronde Barber wasn’t even thinking about the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He was just hoping to stick on the Bucs roster.

“I’m not going to stand up here today and give you ordinary because I was not an ordinary cornerback,” Barber said. “Being here amongst these legends of the game, remembering a time when I was never imagined to be a Pro Football Hall of Famer. My rookie year, hell, my second year in the league I was just hoping that Rich McKay wasn’t going to cut me. I’ve come a long way in 26 years. I was not Darrelle Revis. Trust me, I was not that guy.”

“I’m not going to stand up here today and give you ordinary because I was not an ordinary cornerback. … I wanted to do things that others either could not or would not do. That defined my career.” – #Bucs Hall of Famer ⁦@rondebarber⁩ pic.twitter.com/qgfSGP775P

— PewterReport 🏴‍☠️ (@PewterReport) August 5, 2023

Bucs Hall of Fame CB Ronde Barber and Hall of Famers Warren Sapp, Tony Dungy, Derrick Brooks and John Lynch – Photo by: USA Today

Ronde Barber went from being a potential bust to having a Hall of Fame career with the Bucs that concluded with him actually getting a bust – a bronze one – in Canton where Barber became the 363rd player inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Along the way he was a first-team All-Pro three times, a five-time Pro Bowler, an NFC Defensive Player of the Week nine times and helped the Bucs win Super Bowl XXXVII in 2002, the franchise’s first championship.

The Bucs went to the playoffs seven times with Barber on the team, and his 92-yard pick-six in the 2002 NFC Championship Game is the most iconic play in Tampa Bay history. Barber recorded a team-record 47 interceptions and registered 25 sacks and is the only player in NFL history with that uncommon distinction.

“Now that I’m here I think I owe a very small thanks to those of you who for whatever reason questioned me and either undervalued, underestimated and underappreciated me,” Barber said. “To give me the motivation to not only outwork my peers by be better than the expectations.

“I set out to become uncommon. I never set out to be one of the best 371 players in professional football. If anything, I wanted to do things that others either could not or would not do. That defined my career. Amongst my peers I really felt like I had to do more to be equal.”

Football immortality for an uncommon player! #Bucs legend ⁦@rondebarber⁩ is a Pro Football Hall of Famer! pic.twitter.com/1dlzGM6Y5j

— PewterReport 🏴‍☠️ (@PewterReport) August 5, 2023

Bucs Hall of Fame CB Ronde Barber and Steelers HC Mike Tomlin – Photo by: USA Today

After playing in red and pewter longer than any other Buccaneer, Barber added gold to his ensemble in the form of the classic gold Hall of Fame jacket on August 4, a day before being presented with his bronze bust during the induction ceremony at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium the next day.

Former Bucs teammate, current San Francisco 49ers general manager and fellow Hall of Famer John Lynch and Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin, who was Barber’s secondary coach in Tampa Bay from 2001-05 presented him with the gold jacket.

Barber’s twin brother, Tiki, who had a stellar career in New York as a running back for the Giants, was his presenter at his enshrinement ceremony. Barber even gave his bust bronze creator a shout-out for “not making me look like him!” he said with a laugh, pointing to Tiki.

“I learned along the way that the NFL is a special place, man,” Barber said. “It doesn’t matter where you come from. It doesn’t matter where your journey started. Nobody gets to define you but you. It rewards you to dare to be uncommon and choose to be a little bit extraordinary. This is one of the most humbling moments of my life, standing in front of you now, and I can’t wait to proudly represent professional football and the Pro Football Hall of Fame as I wear this gold jacket.”

HOF Finalist: 3 | Year of eligibility: 6Position: Cornerback/SafetyHeight: 5-10 | Weight: 186NFL career: 1997-2012 Tampa Bay BuccaneersSeasons: 16 | Games: 241College: VirginiaDrafted: 3rd Round (66th overall), 1997Born: April 7, 1975, in Blacksburg, Va.

Bucs Hall of Fame CB Ronde Barber and Hall of Famer John Lynch – Photo by: USA Today

Combined durability with productivity … Played in 241 regular-season games over 16 seasons … Started 215 consecutive regular-season games (224 counting postseason) … Finished career with 47 regular-season interceptions for 923 return yards and eight touchdowns — all Tampa Bay franchise records … Totaled 14 defensive and special teams touchdowns (8 INT, 4 FR and 2 on special teams) … Twice intercepted three passes in a game and six times forced at least two turnovers in a game.

NFL’s all-time leader in sacks for cornerback … Only player in NFL history with a least 45 interceptions and 25 sacks … Three-time All-Pro … Selected to five Pro Bowls … Member of NFL’s All-Decade Team of the 2000s … Led NFL with 10 interceptions in 2001 … Led Buccaneers in interceptions six times … Voted team captain nine times … Buccaneers’ winner of Ed Block Courage Award in 2011 … Full name is Jamael Oronde Barber.