Buccaneers legend John Lynch named Hall of Fame finalist

For the seventh straight year, former Buccaneers safety and 2016 Ring of Honor inductee John Lynch has been named a finalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Lynch is one of 15 finalists, with up to five set to be selected next month for the 2020 class. The enshrinement ceremony will then take place this August in Canton, Ohio.

Lynch, who played 15 seasons (11 with Tampa Bay, four with Denver), was a two-time first-team All-Pro and a nine-time Pro Bowl selection. In 2002, he was a key part of the Buccaneer defense that led the way to the franchise’s lone Lombardi Trophy. The 1993 third-round pick still stands as one of the hardest-hitting defensive players in NFL history and certainly has a strong case to be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

If Lynch finally gets the call this year, he’ll join the likes of Lee Roy Selmon, Warren Sapp, Derrick Brooks and Tony Dungy in the Hall. The former safety, who is currently the general manager of the playoff-bound San Francisco 49ers, was the only one of Tampa Bay’s three semifinalists to be named a finalist this year. Ronde Barber and Simeon Rice will have to wait until 2021 to get another shot.

We’ll find out on Super Bowl weekend if Lynch will get the much-deserved honor.