With the passing of Hall-of-Fame running back Jim Brown, CBS Sports decided to compile their list of the top 25 players in NFL history.
Did any of the former Washington football greats make the all-time top 25 list?
Four former Washington players have had their jersey numbers retired but only one, Sammy Baugh, might be considered as a candidate to make the all-time top 25 list. The others with jerseys retired are Hall of Famers Sonny Jurgensen and Bobby Mitchell. Also, the soon-to-be-former Washington owner Dan Snyder determined to retire the jersey of Sean Taylor, who was tragically murdered during the fourth season of his young career.
As you might have already discerned, no Washington player was voted onto the CBS Sports All-Time Top 25 in NFL History.
Here is the list of the top 25. And if you go here to the original list, you will find a brief description that they provided of each player as to why he made their list.
One thing that remains true, there is no objective way to even construct such a list. So don’t get upset about it. Simply acknowledge it for what it is… a list that results from subjective voting.
25. Bruce Matthews, OL (1983-2001)
24. Night Train Lane, DB (1948-1961)
23. Emlem Tunnell, DB (1948-1961)
22. Don Hutson, WR (1935-1945)
21. Tony Gonzalez, TE (1997-2013)
20. Gale Sayers, RB (1965-1971)
19. Rod Woodson, DB (1987-2003)
18. Alan Page, DT (1967-1981
17. Anthony Munoz, LT (1980-1992)
16. Emmitt Smith, RB (1990-2004)
15. Randy Moss, WR (1998-2010, 2012)
14. Joe Greene, DT (1969-1981)
13. Dan Marino, QB (1983-1999)
12. Aaron Donald, DT (2014-present)
11. Johnny Unitas, QB (1956-1973)
10. Joe Montana, QB (1979-1994)
9. Ray Lewis, LB (1996-2012)
8. Barry Sanders, RB (1989-1998)
7. Reggie White, DE (1985-1998, 2000)
6. Lawrence Taylor, LB (1981-1993)
5. Peyton Manning, QB (1998-2015)
4. Walter Payton, RB (1975-1987)
3. Jim Brown, RB (1957-1965)
2. Jerry Rice, WR (1985-04)
1. Tom Brady, QB (2000-2022)