Derrick Brooks was cut by the Mark Dominik/Raheem Morris regime shortly after they were hired to replace Jon Gruden and Bruce Allen. This unceremonious ending to the career of one of the best Buccaneers ever was a poor start for the new regime and turned a lot of fans against them. And, really, it wasn't a very classy move. But the Bucs have done their best to make it up to Derrick Brooks the past two years. They gave him the opportunity to announce his retirement at One Buc Place last year, and now they've given him a retirement party at Raymond James Stadium.
Derrick Brooks is currently the president and part-owner of the Arena Football League team the Tampa Bay Storm. He still found time to show up at his own retirement party, though, which featured many of his former teammates and other NFL stars such as Deion Sanders. You can watch the video highlights right here. Apparently, Monte Kiffin shouted "Tonight, Derrick Brooks's retirement party is for the ages!" as if it was a war cry for a group of defensive linemen. It's great to see a lot of the old Buccaneers together, so be sure to look at the video. It's not like there's any other NFL business going on right now, anyway.
It's good to see that Brooks and the Bucs have patched up their relationship. It also raises the question of Brooks's enshrinement into the Buccaneers' Ring of Honor. In my opinion, he should be enshrined as quickly as possible. Derrick Brooks perfectly represented what a Tampa Bay Buccaneer should be both on and off the field, and the Bucs would do well to embrace him publicly as quickly as possible.