Ronde Barber, John Lynch and Simeon Rice reached the pinnacles of their respective NFL playing careers together, taking turns hoisting the Lombardi Trophy after the Tampa Bay Buccaneers won Super Bowl XXXVII in January of 2003. Fifteen years later, they could again share the NFL's brightest stage, earning the game's greatest individual honor at the same time.
That trio of former Buccaneer defenders moved closer to that honor on Tuesday night when each was named one of the 27 semifinalists for the Pro Football Hall of Fame's Class of 2018. That group was culled from an original list of 108 modern-era nominees, which was announced in September.