Tag: Hardy Nickerson

Hardy Nickerson, the unsung hero of the Bucs’ 1990s turnaround

Hardy Nickerson still doesn’t get enough credit for his foundational role in changing the culture for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers

On a national level, when the discussion arises regarding the transformation experienced by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the mid-1990s, most of the conversation centers on the Hall of Fame defenders who would eventually prove to be the core of their championship unit in 2002.

But while it’s right to give well-earned praise to the likes of Derrick Brooks, Warren Sapp, John Lynch and Rondé Barber, there’s one player who still doesn’t get the respect he deserves for setting the early foundation for the Bucs’ turnaround in those years.

Hardy Nickerson was one of the NFL’s best linebackers during his time in Tampa Bay, and his veteran leadership proved to be invaluable to those future Hall of Famers who spent their early years learning from his experience.

In case you forgot, check out this awesome highlight reel of Nickerson during his days in Tampa Bay:

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Six great Bucs players of the ‘creamsicle’ era

In honor of Tampa Bay’s return to the creamiscles on Sunday, here are some of the best players of the creamsicle era in Tampa Bay from 1976 to 1996:

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are bringing out their throwback “creamsicle” uniforms on Sunday, and they’ll be looking to win in a uniform that doesn’t have a whole lot of history of seeing many.

The orange and white era of Bucs history is far more often dire than not, but that doesn’t mean that every player on those teams was bad. There were actually quite a few contributors who donned a helmet with Bucco Bruce on the side, with some of them earning a spot in the Bucs’ Ring of Honor and beyond to the Hall of Fame.

In honor of the Bucs wearing those uniforms against the Lions on Sunday, we compiled (in no particular order) six great Buccaneers players from the “creamsicle” era of Tampa Bay football:

Fred Taylor, Jimmy Smith among 173 Hall of Fame nominees

A handful of former Jaguars players are on the preliminary list of nominees for the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Class of 2024.

The Pro Football Hall of Fame released its preliminary list of 173 nominees for the Class of 2024, including Jacksonville Jaguars legends Fred Taylor and Jimmy Smith.

Neither name is a surprise as Taylor has advanced to the semifinalist stage of the process in each of the last four years and Smith has been a nominee in all but one year since he became eligible in 2011.

Taylor is 17th in NFL history in rushing yards behind 15 players already in the Hall of Fame and two, Frank Gore and Adrian Peterson, who will be soon.

Smith is 25th in career receiving yards and 27th in receptions.

There are nine players on the list of nominations for the first time, including running back Jamaal Charles, who played most of his career with the Kansas City Chiefs but finished it with an exceedingly brief stint in Jacksonville.

Similarly, Torry Holt — who played 10 years with the St. Louis Rams and ended his career with one season with the Jaguars — is a nominee. He was a finalist in each of the last four years, but hasn’t yet made the cut.

Andre Rison, Hardy Nickerson, and Bryce Paul are three more former Jaguars among the nominees.

In November, the 173-player list of nominees will be trimmed to 25 semifinalists. Another 10 players will be cut in January and the 15 modern-era finalists will be presented to the selection committee just before the Super Bowl.

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Texans sign former Bengals, Vikings linebacker Hardy Nickerson

The Houston Texans have signed former Cincinnati Bengals and Minnesota Vikings linebacker Hardy Nickerson.

The Houston Texans continue to add veteran talent to their roster.

According to Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle, the Texans signed former Cincinnati Bengals and Minnesota Vikings linebacker Hardy Nickerson.

The Texans have a bevy of capable linebackers on the roster in Zach Cunningham, Christian Kirksey, Kevin Pierre-Louis, and Joe Thomas. Bringing in Nickerson continues to bolster the depth for the unit that will be transitioning to play the Tampa-2 scheme, which deploys a 4-3 front, away from the 3-4 scheme Houston has ran since 2011.

Nickerson played one season with the Vikings. In 2020, the former Bengals undrafted free agent collected 14 combined tackles, an interception, a pass breakup, and two forced fumbles in 14 games, one of which he started.

The 6-0, 235-pound linebacker from Illinois is the son of former four-time All-Pro linebacker Hardy Nickerson, who played in the NFL with the Pittsburgh Steelers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Jacksonville Jaguars, and Green Bay Packers from 1987-2002. Nickerson also was the linebackers coach for Lovie Smith with the Chicago Bears in 2007 and had similar jobs under Smith with the Buccaneers (2014-15) and the University of Illinois (2016-18).

Vikings sign linebacker Hardy Nickerson to the active roster

Minnesota Vikings linebacker Eric Kendricks is out and the Vikings made some roster moves for the linebacker position before the game against the Buccaneers.

The Vikings received a big blow to their defensive group when linebacker Eric Kendricks went down with a pregame calf injury against the Jaguars.

On Friday, Minnesota announced that Kendricks would be out again this week. At least the Vikings got more of a notice this time, but losing arguably the team’s best defensive player is always tough.

To combat depth issues at linebacker, the Vikings have signed Hardy Nickerson to the active roster. Nickerson has appeared in 10 games this season, starting one of them.

Minnesota wasn’t done making moves for the linebacker position. The team also elevated LB Blake Lynch to the active roster. Lynch, a rookie out of Baylor, was previously on the practice squad. The Vikings also waived S Curtis Riley.

Vikings sign LB Hardy Nickerson, waive CB Marcus Sayles

The Vikings announced Tuesday that Nickerson has signed with the team.

The Vikings waived Quentin Poling recently, who could’ve panned out as adequate depth at linebacker.

But now there is another player who could fill that void: Hardy Nickerson.

The Vikings announced Tuesday that Nickerson has signed with the team.

Nickerson played for the Bengals and started nine games over the course of three seasons. He also played in 37 games. He had 81 total tackles and a forced fumble throughout that span.

He could be a depth option at linebacker in addition to being a special teams player. He provides a veteran presence on what is a younger linebacker group, besides Eric Kendricks and Anthony Barr, who have been mainstay starters for the Vikings at that position.

After Barr and Kendricks, it should be a nice competition for spots on the linebacker depth chart with players such as Eric Wilson, Troy Dye, Ben Gedeon and others in the mix. Maybe Nickerson can rise up the ranks.

Minnesota waived CB Marcus Sayles in the process of adding Nickerson. Sayles earned West Division all-star accolades while playing for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers en route to a 2019 Grey Cup victory.