TAMPA, Fla. — Have you ever wondered what it’s like to sack Tom Brady? Well, former defensive end Simeon Rice, 46, can remember it well from when they played in the NFL at the same time.
“I didn’t know he was the competitor that he was. And, I really didn’t know he had the potty mouth he had, because I hit him a few times,” Rice said.
Rice sacked Brady back when the Bucs quarterback played for the New England Patriots.
“I kinda got a kick out of him because I was able to see the competitive side to him,” he said. “Tom Brady, being one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time.”
From 2001 to 2006, Rice played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He was with the Bucs when they defeated the Raiders in Super Bowl XXXVII back in 2003.
Rice said winning the Super Bowl was fantastic.
“It was one of the most memorable moments in my athletic life.”
He said he told then-Tampa Bay General Manager Rick McKay if he was brought to play for the Bucs, then they would make it to the Super Bowl.
“I told him... you bring me here, within a year or two we are going to be in the Super Bowl,” Rice recalled. “After winning the Super Bowl with all the confetti falling, we had a moment -- a cherished moment -- where he hugged me and I’m hugging him...and he said ‘Wow, Simeon. You kept your word.’”
Rice was picked up by the Arizona Cardinals, third overall, in the 1996 NFL Draft.
You can watch Simeon Rice co-host "After Super Bowl LV" with 10 Tampa Bay's Ryan Bass immediately after the big game on Feb. 7. You'll be able to catch the special broadcast and the Super Bowl itself locally on 10 Tampa Bay. Kickoff is at 6:30 p.m.
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