Bruce Smith to have number retired by Bills during 2016 home opener

The Buffalo Bills will honor legendary defensive end Bruce Smith by retiring his No. 78 during a ceremony at the team’s home opener.

In the history of the NFL, there may have not been a better defensive end than Bruce Smith. For 19 seasons, Smith terrorized offensive linemen and quarterbacks as a member of the Buffalo Bills for 15 years before finishing his career with the Washington Redskins.

This season, the Pro Football Hall of Famer will be honored by the team that he spent most of his career with by becoming just the second player in franchise history to have his jersey number retired, the Bills announced via Pro Football Talk:

"“We will be honoring Bruce Smith, one of the greatest players in Bills history, during the Thursday night home opener in a special halftime ceremony in which we will retire his jersey number,” Bills President Russ Brandon said. “On behalf of Terry and Kim Pegula and the entire Bills organization, we feel this is a tremendous opportunity to honor Bruce and his Hall of Fame career. We believe it’s going to be a great night for Bruce, his family and Bills fans everywhere.”"

Smith joins his former teammate, quarterback Jim Kelly, as the only two players in the history of the Bills franchise to receive the honor. The ceremony will take place on September 15 when the team host one long time rival, the New York Jets.

After being taken with the top overall pick by the Bills in the 1985 NFL Draft, Bruce Smith went on to be named to the Pro Bowl 11 times while in Buffalo, while also being named to an All-Pro Team 11 times as well (nine of those First-Team honors). Smith finished his career with 200 sacks, still the most in NFL history.

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