97 #DaysToFootball

Four interior linemen highlight today's list; like yesterday, none of these 97s are in the Hall of Fame:

5. Kelly Gregg, DT
2002-2010 (Baltimore); 350 career tackles

(Doug Pensinger/Getty)

While wearing 97, Kelly Gregg played in 126 of a possible 128 games. Like Casey Hampton in Pittsburgh, Gregg was a run-plugging AFC North nose tackle throughout the 2000s. The six-foot, 310-pound Gregg had his best season in 2003, when he recorded three sacks and 63 tackles. Drafted in the sixth round by Cincinnati, the former Oklahoma Sooner had a slow start; spending his rookie year in Philadelphia wearing 94, 2000 out of football altogether, and 2001 as a backup defensive tackle wearing 73 for the Ravens. After his Ravens career ended, Gregg switched teams and numbers yet again, finishing his career as number 77 in Kansas City.

4. Geno Atkins, DT
2010-Present (Cincinnati); Five Pro Bowls; Two First-Team All-Pro; 52 career sacks

(Jared Wickerham/Getty)

Perhaps the premiere current defensive tackle in football, Geno Atkins has ended five of his past six seasons as a Pro Bowler. With the exception of an injury-shortened 2013 season, Atkins has started all but one game for the Bengals since 2011. 2012 was the best season to date for the Georgia alum; Atkins recorded 12.5 sacks and forced four fumbles en route to his first all-pro recognition. Atkins shows no signs of slowing down; his 2016 campaign ended with the third-best single-season sack total, nine, of his young career. Geno is in the last year of his current contract with the Bengals; a monster season may be in store for the 29-year-old lineman.

3. Simeon Rice, DE
1997-2007 (Arizona, Tampa Bay, Denver); Three Pro Bowls; One First-Team All-Pro; 108.5 career sacks

(Greg Trott/Associated Press)

1996 Defensive Rookie of the Year Simeon Rice changed his number from 79 to 97 prior to his sophomore campaign with the Cardinals. His best season with the Bird Gang came in 1999, when he earned his first Pro Bowl berth with a career-best 16.5 sacks. In 2001, he moved to Tampa Bay; Rice made an immediate impact with five straight double-digit sack seasons. In 2002, Rice helped the Bucs win their first (and to this time, only) Super Bowl, recording 15.5 sacks and earning his lone first-team all-pro selection. After starting 2007 in Denver, Rice finished his career wearing 78 in Indianapolis.

2. Bryant Young, DT
1994-2007 (San Francisco); Four Pro Bowls; One First-Team All-Pro; 89.5 career sacks



Bryant Young was a rookie on the last of the five 49ers championship teams; his career in San Francisco spanned 14 seasons. Throughout that time Young missed an average of about one game per season, playing in 208 out of a possible 224 regular season contests. The Notre Dame product's best season came in 1996, when Young made 61 tackles, 11.5 sacks and scored a league-high two safeties. Young retired as the 49ers' sack leader in 2007, a title that he still holds a decade later.

1. La'Roi Glover, DT
1996-2008 (New Orleans, Dallas, Rams); Six Pro Bowls; One First-Team All-Pro; 83.5 career sacks

(Dilip Vishwanat/Getty)

One of the most dependable interior defensive linemen of the '00s, La'Roi Glover went 11 straight seasons without missing a game. Glover played significant portions of his career with both the Saints and Cowboys, making multiple Pro Bowl appearances as a member of each team. Glover's production was highest in New Orleans; 50 of his 83.5 sacks and 219 of his 430 tackles wearing 97 came in his six years with the Saints. Glover finished his career with a three-year stint in St. Louis, cementing his position as the best player ever to wear 97.