Bucs place Simeon Rice on injured reserve

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Simeon Rice's streak of consecutive seasons with double-digit sacks ended at five Wednesday when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers placed him on injured reserve because of a lingering shoulder injury. The three-time Pro Bowl selection had never missed a game because of injury before sitting out the Bucs' loss to the Carolina Panthers on Nov. 13. Rice ranks second among active players with 121 career sacks, but he's been slowed by a shoulder problem that may require surgery and had a career-low two this season. Rice started eight games, finishing with 21 tackles and a team-high four forced fumbles. The team announced the decision to place him on injured reserve before heading to Dallas to face the Cowboys on Thanksgiving Day. Dewayne White, who shares the club lead with four sacks this season, will replace Rice in the starting lineup. Coach Jon Gruden was asked Tuesday if Rice, who had not practiced in two weeks, might need surgery. "That's certainly an option right now. I think the longer this goes on, it's inevitable that we've got to take a look at what the final analysis is," Gruden said. "It's been very frustrating for him. He's tried to go, he's wanted to go, he wanted to play last week. "Medically, we chose not to let him play, and we miss him. We miss him, certainly." Rice's eight seasons with 10 or more sacks are most among active players and tied for fifth all-time in NFL history. He has 58 1-2 since 2002, second in the league during that stretch behind Jason Taylor's 62.