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Derrick Brooks will be part of the 2014 Pro Football Hall of Fame class, at least if we can believe his own twitter account.
Thought of tonight is JOY, HUMILITY, and gratefulness, I'm in the Hall of Fame Now
— Derrick Brooks (@DBrooks55) February 1, 2014
Derrick Brooks' credentials are impeccable. Brooks went to 11 Pro Bowls, was selected as a first-team All-Pro five times, made it to the 2000s All-Decade Team and the Defensive Player of the Year Award for the 2002 season. He practically invented the weakside linebacker position, and was probably the single most important player in all of those great Tampa Bay defenses.
Brooks joins Warren Sapp and Lee Roy Selmon as the only "true" Buccaneers in the Hall of Fame, with one-time Buc Steve Young hanging around there somewhere, too.
In addition to all of the on-field credentials, he was also impeccable off the field and in the locker room. Brooks was and remains a constant factor in the Tampa Bay community, and was the undisputed leader for nearly every Bucs team he was a part of. Without him, there's no Tampa 2, there's no all-star defense, and there's no Super Bowl in Tampa. And now, there's no Hall of Fame without Derrick Brooks.
