Legendary Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive back Ronde Barber is confident about the team’s Super Bowl prospects in 2025.
In a recent interview, the Hall of Famer expressed his belief that the current Buccaneers roster ranks among the best in the NFC and should be viewed as serious contenders in the conference.
Ronde Barber Says the Buccaneers Are NFC Contenders
The Buccaneers made their fifth-straight playoff appearance at the end of the 2024 season. Four straight losses left the team 4-6 after 10 weeks, but the team rallied, winning six of its final seven games to finish 10-7.
The Buccaneers have now won the NFC South four consecutive times, and Barber believes the team has demonstrated its ability to compete with the best. During an interview with RG, Barber pointed to the team’s record and the level of competition that it faces as a result.
“They’ve won the division four times, so they’re going to get the best team out of the conference that they’re not playing. They can compete with anybody. That’s part of the attraction of Tampa — at least quietly amongst NFL people — is that they may look bad, but they also may look really good.”
Tampa Bay regularly locked horns with the NFL’s best in 2024 and was one of only two teams to beat the NFC’s eventual No. 1 seed Detroit Lions. They also handed losses to both of the teams that made the NFC Championship Game, the Washington Commanders and the Philadelphia Eagles.
That isn’t lost on Barber, who also pointed to close games with some of the AFC’s elite. “You figure they were a couple of plays away from being in the game against Baltimore last year, who was one of the elites in the NFL. They took Kansas City to overtime last year, they were in the Super Bowl. They beat Philly last year, so yes, they can (compete).”
Barber Believes Mike Evans Will Retire With the Buccaneers
You can’t talk about the modern-day Buccaneers without mentioning their talismanic wide receiver, Mike Evans. Evans now has 11-straight 1,000-yard receiving seasons to start his career, an NFL record.
On whether he felt the 31-year-old would see out his career with the Buccaneers, Barber was without doubt.
“There’s very few one-time Bucs players that are that good. Obviously if you only play a couple years, it’s easy to be a one-team player, but you don’t put in what he’s put in and accomplish what he’s accomplished and go somewhere else and play.”
Barber knows a thing or two about that. The Hall of Famer spent his entire 16-year career with the Buccaneers, starting every game for the team over his final 13 seasons. Barber helped bring home a Super Bowl at the end of the 2002 season, just as Evans did 18 years later. If the legendary Buccaneer is right, Evans might just add a second ring before he hangs it up.