Jon Gruden Wants Brad Johnson In Bucs’ Ring Of Honor

The Bucs will induct Simeon Rice into their Ring of Honor this November, but who’s next?

Hardy Nickerson, James Wilder, Tom Brady and Gene Deckerhoff all come to mind, and Jason Licht, Lavonte David and Mike Evans will eventually have their respective days. But Jon Gruden, Tampa Bay’s Super Bowl XXXVII-winning head coach and a Bucs Ring of Honor member himself, has another name in mind, and it’s one that doesn’t get talked about enough when the Ring of Honor conversation comes up.

That name? Brad Johnson, the quarterback who helped the franchise to its first-ever Lombardi Trophy alongside Gruden back in the 2002 season.

As part of Tuesday night’s “Raise the Flags” premiere event at the historic Tampa Theatre, the Bucs’ first championship-winning quarterback and head coach combo was reunited once again, and Gruden made his pitch for “The Bull” to be inducted into the Ring of Honor inside Raymond James Stadium.

“I hope he gets himself in the Ring of Honor. We don’t win the Super Bowl without that guy,” Gruden said. “We had a hard time making a first down in the games he didn’t play. And when he came back, he was healthy, he was hot. I think he threw five touchdowns against Minnesota. He ripped the Falcons, man. And he was awesome in the playoffs. He tore up the 49ers and he played great in Philly and really played great in the Super Bowl. The only interception was a double move against Charles Woodson. We had a big play, but he got hit when he threw it.

“He put up with me, and that’s saying a lot. But I really got a lot of respect for him. He is one tough dude.”

Johnson followed soon after Gruden on the red carpet Tuesday night, so of course he was asked about his former head coach’s comments. Rather than focusing on the Bucs Ring of Honor aspect of what Gruden said, Johnson chose to give the credit for that Super Bowl XXXVII glory right back to Gruden.

“When Coach Gruden came in here, the first phone call that I made when he got the job was to Rich Gannon,” Johnson said. “Rich and I played together in Minnesota for a year, and Rich just raved about how great he was and the success that he made in his career. So, when I met Jon, he told us we were gonna win a Super Bowl, and we did. It was a lot of work. It was tough.

“But he got the most out of our whole team and the greatness to actually win a Super Bowl. We don’t win it without Jon Gruden. He made it happen for all of us.”

Examining Brad Johnson’s Bucs Ring Of Honor Case

Brad Johnson’s time with the Bucs was relatively brief, as it only spanned four seasons and 49 games. And the final of those four seasons saw him limited to only four games, so it was really three seasons-plus. But there’s certainly still a case for Johnson to see his name up inside Raymond James Stadium one of these days.

After spending his first five NFL seasons in Minnesota from 1994-1998, he spent the 1999 and 2000 seasons in Washington. Then, in 2001, he signed a five-year, $28 million deal with Tampa Bay. He broke three franchise records in 2001, his first year with the team, with 3,406 passing yards, 340 completions and 540 pass attempts.

But the real masterpiece of a season came in 2002 when Jon Gruden arrived in Tampa Bay to partner up with Johnson in an effort to get the offense to a place where it was properly complementing the Bucs’ dominant defense. They did just that, with Johnson going 10-3 as a starter and completing 62.3% of his passes for 3,049 yards and 22 touchdowns to just six interceptions on his way to the second Pro Bowl nod of his career.

Johnson set franchise records for completion percentage and touchdown passes that season, plus he went 187 pass attempts without an interception at one point, which was another franchise record.

Johnson won NFC Offensive Player of the Week twice that season, then came the run to the Super Bowl. His stats won’t jump off the page, as he completed 53 of his 98 passes (54.1%) of his passes over the three-game run for 670 yards and five touchdowns to three interceptions. But he was a steady presence for the Tampa Bay offense and did enough, in conjunction with the defense, to guide the Bucs to their first-ever Super Bowl win.

Johnson went on to once again break his own records for passing yards (3,811) and passing touchdowns (26) in 2003, though his interception took a wild jump from six in 2002 to 21 in 2003. A 4-11 stretch with him as the team’s starter ultimately led to him getting benched four games into 2004 and not long after, Johnson wanted out. He went on to play another two seasons in Minnesota and two more in Dallas to finish his 15-year NFL career.

So, what’s his legacy with the Bucs, and where does that leave his Ring of Honor case? Johnson held those aforementioned single-season franchise records for a while, and his 49-game career in Tampa Bay left him with a stat line that featured 1,040 completions on 1,683 attempts (61.8%), 10,940 yards, 64 touchdowns and 41 interceptions. He was 26-23 over those 49 games as a starter.

Despite the relatively modest numbers, the franchise’s modest history of quarterback play means he ranks sixth all-time in completions, seventh in pass attempts, seventh in passing yards, eighth in passing touchdowns and fifth in wins as a starting quarterback.

Push all of the numbers and career ranks aside, though. Brad Johnson’s true legacy with the Bucs was being the first quarterback to win Tampa Bay a Super Bowl. That alone should warrant strong Ring of Honor consideration, right? Johnson recently came in at No. 28 on the team’s Top 50 Buccaneers list ahead of the 50th season, which is some noteworthy recognition in its own right. The list wouldn’t have been complete without the Super Bowl XXXVII champion quarterback.

With that being said, though, Johnson would be the lowest-ranked player on the top 50 list to be inducted into the Bucs Ring of Honor, and there are several who came in ahead of him who haven’t been inducted yet themselves. Does that matter? Some would argue yes, but plenty could disagree.

So, it’s really a fascinating case. The Glazer family has the final say, so what really matters is what they think of his Bucs Ring of Honor candidacy. But if Jon Gruden could have it his way, Brad Johnson would absolutely be in.

What say you, Bucs fans and Pewter People?