Two former Chiefs are semifinalists for Pro Football Hall of Fame class of 2025

Former #Chiefs defensive linemen Jared Allen and Terrell Suggs were named semifinalists for election to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

The Kansas City Chiefs are one of the most storied franchises in NFL history and have posted countless league records and produced several football legends.

Since the Chiefs joined the NFL in 1960, 25 of Kansas City’s players have been elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio, the eighth-most in league history.

Now that number may rise even higher.

On Tuesday, 25 players were named semifinalists for the Hall of Fame Class of 2025, including former Chiefs defensive end Jared Allen and linebacker Terrell Suggs.

Allen was a member of Kansas City’s defensive front from 2004-2007 before making his way to Minnesota, Chicago, and Carolina where he finished his career.

Suggs was a member of the Chiefs’ Super Bowl LIV victory over the San Francisco 49ers in 2019.

Only four to eight players from the list of 25 will be selected to the Hall of Fame. Stay tuned to see if these two defensive greats will be enshrined in Canton next year.

Couple Raiders legends remain among modern-era semifinalists for Pro Football Hall of Fame

The latest trim down to 25 modern-era semi-finalists, leaves two Raiders nominees for the Pro Football Hall of Fame class of 2025.

Wednesday the Pro Football Hall of Fame trimmed their list of nominees down to 25 semi-finalists. Among them are a couple Raiders legends.

Making the list are Raiders greats CB Eric Allen and G Steve Wisniewski.

Allen finished out his career in Oakland, playing for the Raiders for four seasons from 1998-2001. This is his fifth time being named a semi-finalist.

Wisniewski played his entire career for the Raiders, starting in Los Angeles in 1989 and retiring after the 2001 season. This is his second time as a semifinalist.

This round saw Marshawn Lynch trimmed from the list of nominees for the Raiders. He was in his first year of eligibility.

This list will be trimmed down to a shorter list of finalists later this year. They will be combined with the senior finalists for a list of 20 modern-era and senior finalists, with the list of inductees announced prior to Super Bowl LIX in February.

2 Panthers legends named semifinalists for Pro Football Hall of Fame’s 2025 class

Panthers greats Steve Smith Sr. and Luke Kuechly are amongst the 25 semifinalists for the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s 2025 class.

Two Carolina Panthers greats are one step closer to immortalizing their legacies.

On Wednesday morning, former wide receiver Steve Smith Sr. and former linebacker Luke Kuechly were named amongst the 25 semifinalists for the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s 2025 class. This marks Smith’s fourth year of eligibility for a spot in Canton, Ohio and Kuechly’s first.

Each of Smith’s four years on the ballot have now taken him into semifinalist status. He has yet to advance as a finalist.

Smith spent 13 of his 16 pro campaigns in Carolina—where he accumulated a franchise-leading 12,197 receiving yards, two First-team All-Pro nods, five Pro Bowl selections and a Comeback Player of the Year award. He stands as the NFL’s eighth all-time leading receiver (14,731 yards).

Kuechly’s highly-decorated career could very well turn him into a first-ballot Hall of Famer. The former ninth overall pick—over his eight seasons—captured a Defensive Rookie of the Year award, a Defensive Player of the Year award, five First-team All-Pro spots and seven Pro Bowl spots.

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Legendary Jaguars RB Fred Taylor a semifinalist for 2025 HOF class

Legendary Jaguars RB Fred Taylor a semifinalist for 2025 HOF class

Not much has gone right for the Jaguars this season. Perhaps the Pro Football Hall of Fame can help them end the year, and 30th anniversary as a team, on a good note.

Legendary former Jacksonville running back Fred Taylor was one of 25 “Modern-Era Players” named a semifinalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Class of 2025 on Wednesday, the organization announced.

It marks the sixth consecutive class in which Taylor has been named a semifinalist; he advanced to the round of 15 modern-era finalists for the first time last year.

Among the nominees, Taylor is tied with former Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Reggie Wayne for the fourth-most semifinalist nods. Former St. Louis Rams (and one-year Jaguars) wide receiver Torry Holt leads the group with 11; former Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver and Dallas Cowboys safety Darren Woodson are tied for second with nine.

Taylor, Jacksonville’s ninth overall pick in the first round of the 1998 NFL draft out of Florida, spent 11 seasons with the Jaguars and holds the franchise’s all-time rushing yards record with 11,271. He also rushed for 62 touchdowns and caught 286 passes for 2,361 yards and eight touchdowns with the club.

Taylor’s 11,695 career rushing yards, of which 1,299 were compiled with the New England Patriots between 2009-10, are the 17th most in league history. Every eligible running back ahead of Taylor on the list is a Pro Football Hall of Famer.

The candidate pool for the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2025 was cut from 167 “modern-era players” to 25 on Wednesday, including six first-year eligible players: Former Carolina Panthers linebacker Luke Kuechly, New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning, Baltimore Ravens linebacker Terrell Suggs and offensive lineman Marshall Yanda, Seattle Seahawks safety Earl Thomas and Indianapolis kicker Adam Vinatieri.

Find the 25 semifinalists below.

  • Eric Allen, CB — 1988-1994 Philadelphia Eagles, 1995-97 New Orleans Saints, 1998-2001 Oakland Raiders | (Times as a Semifinalist: 5 – 2021-25)
  • Jared Allen, DE — 2004-07 Kansas City Chiefs, 2008-2013 Minnesota Vikings, 2014-15 Chicago Bears, 2015 Carolina Panthers | (Times as a Semifinalist: 5 – 2021-25)
  • Willie Anderson, T — 1996-2007 Cincinnati Bengals, 2008 Baltimore Ravens | (Times as a Semifinalist: 5 – 2021-25)
  • Anquan Boldin, WR — 2003-09 Arizona Cardinals, 2010-12 Baltimore Ravens, 2013-15 San Francisco 49ers, 2016 Detroit Lions | (Times as a Semifinalist: 4 – 2022-25)
  • Jahri Evans, G — 2006-2016 New Orleans Saints, 2017 Green Bay Packers | (Times as a Semifinalist: 3 – 2023-25)
  • Antonio Gates, TE — 2003-2018 San Diego/Los Angeles Chargers | (Times as a Semifinalist: 2 – 2024-25)
  • James Harrison, LB — 2002-2012, 2014-17 Pittsburgh Steelers, 2013 Cincinnati Bengals, 2017 New England Patriots | (Times as a Semifinalist: 3 – 2023-25)
  • Rodney Harrison, S — 1994-2002 San Diego Chargers, 2003-08 New England Patriots | (Times as a Semifinalist: 4 – 2021, 2023-25)
  • Torry Holt, WR — 1999-2008 St. Louis Rams, 2009 Jacksonville Jaguars | (Times as a Semifinalist: 11 – 2015-2025)
  • Luke Kuechly, LB — 2012-19 Carolina Panthers | (Times as a Semifinalist: 1 – 2025)
  • Eli Manning, QB — 2004-2019 New York Giants | (Times as a Semifinalist: 1 – 2025)
  • Robert Mathis, DE/LB — 2003-2016 Indianapolis Colts | (Times as a Semifinalist: 4 – 2022-25)
  • Steve Smith Sr., WR — 2001-2013 Carolina Panthers, 2014-16 Baltimore Ravens | (Times as a Semifinalist: 4 – 2022-25)
  • Terrell Suggs, LB/DE — 2003-2018 Baltimore Ravens, 2019 Arizona Cardinals, 2019 Kansas City Chiefs | (Times as a Semifinalist: 1 – 2025)
  • Fred Taylor, RB — 1998-2008 Jacksonville Jaguars, 2009-2010 New England Patriots | (Times as a Semifinalist: 6 – 2020-25)
  • Earl Thomas, DB — 2010-18 Seattle Seahawks, 2019 Baltimore Ravens | (Times as a Semifinalist: 1 – 2025)
  • Adam Vinatieri, PK — 1996-2005 New England Patriots, 2006-2019 Indianapolis Colts | (Times as a Semifinalist: 1 – 2025)
  • Hines Ward, WR — 1998-2011 Pittsburgh Steelers | (Times as a Semifinalist: 9 – 2017-2025)
  • Ricky Watters, RB — 1992-94 San Francisco 49ers, 1995-97 Philadelphia Eagles, 1998-2001 Seattle Seahawks | (Times as a Semifinalist: 5 – 2020, 2022-25)
  • Reggie Wayne, WR — 2001-2014 Indianapolis Colts | (Times as a Semifinalist: 6 – 2020-25)
  • Richmond Webb, T — 1990-2000 Miami Dolphins, 2001-02 Cincinnati Bengals | (Times as a Semifinalist: 1 – 2025)
  • Vince Wilfork, DT — 2004-2014 New England Patriots, 2015-16 Houston Texans | (Times as a Semifinalist: 4 – 2022-25)
  • Steve Wisniewski, G — 1989-2001 Los Angeles/Oakland Raiders | (Times as a Semifinalist: 2 – 2014, 2025)
  • Darren Woodson, S — 1992-2003 Dallas Cowboys | (Times as a Semifinalist: 9 – 2015, 2017, 2019-2025)
  • Marshal Yanda, G/T — 2007-2019 Baltimore Ravens | (Times as a Semifinalist: 1 – 2025)

Dolphins legend is Hall of Fame semifinalist for the first time

Richmond Webb is closer to Pro Football Hall of Fame induction than he’s ever been.

Former Miami Dolphins offensive tackle Richmond Webb reached the semifinalist stage of the Pro Football Hall of Fame voting process for the first time and is one of 25 remaining candidates for the Class of 2025.

Webb, 57, was the No. 9 selection in the 1990 NFL draft and spent 11 seasons with the Dolphins mostly protecting Dan Marino’s blindside. The stalwart left tackle earned Pro Bowl honors seven times, was a two-time First Team All-Pro, and a two-time Second Team All-Pro during his time in Miami. Webb then finished his career with two seasons with the Cincinnati Bengals.

Among those that didn’t advance to the semifinalist stage is former Dolphins wide receiver and current wide receivers coach Wes Welker.

Webb is one of seven first-time semifinalists along with Luke Kuechly, Eli Manning, Terrell Suggs, Earl Thomas, Adam Vinatieri, and Marshal Yanda. All six of those players are in their first year of Hall of Fame eligibility.

Later this year, the list of 25 semifinalists will be trimmed to 15 finalists.

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2 ex-Broncos players fail to advance in Hall of Fame voting

The Broncos will not have any players added to the Hall of Fame in the 2025 class.

Former Denver Broncos defensive linemen Neil Smith and Simeon Rice are not among the 25 modern-era semifinalists for the 2025 Pro Football Hall of Fame class. So the Broncos will not be represented by any players in next year’s class.

Smith, 58, spent the first nine years of his career with the Kansas City Chiefs before joining the Broncos in 1997. He won back-to-back Super Bowls in Denver and then finished his career with the San Diego Chargers.

Smith totaled 625 tackles, 104.5 sacks, 30 forced fumbles, 12 fumble recoveries and four interceptions during his 13-year career.

Rice, 50, played five years with the Arizona Cardinals and then had a six-year run with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, winning Super Bowl XXXVII with the Bucs. He spent part of his final year in the NFL with the Broncos in 2007.

Rice recorded 483 tackles, 122 sacks, 43 pass breakups, 28 forced fumbles, eight fumble recoveries and five interceptions during his 12-year career.

Former coaches Mike Shanahan and the late Dan Reeves were previously named coach semifinalists for the 2025 class in October. The selection committee voted on a coach finalist yesterday, but the result is not expected to be announced until December.

Broncos candidates for Hall of Fame

  1. Coach Mike Shanahan
  2. Coach Dan Reeves

The list of modern-era player semifinalists will be trimmed down to a finalists list later this fall. The 2025 class will be announced before Super Bowl LVIX next year.

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Rams legend Torry Holt is a Hall of Fame semifinalist for the 11th time

Torry Holt continues to wait his turn for the Hall of Fame, being selected a semifinalist for the 11th time

Torry Holt has been waiting his turn for a long time and hopefully, this is the year the St. Louis Rams legend finally breaks through as a Pro Football Hall of Famer. On Wednesday, Holt was announced as one of 25 modern-era semifinalists, which is practically a given for him at this point.

It’s the 11th year in a row that Holt has been voted a semifinalist, two more than any other player in this year’s class. The next-closest candidates are Hines Ward and Darren Woodson, who have each been semifinalists nine times.

Among the other wide receivers in the 2025 semifinalist pool are Anquan Boldin, Steve Smith Sr., Reggie Wayne and Ward. It’s not the strongest receiver class, which gives Holt a better chance of getting in.

Luke Kuechly, Eli Manning, Terrell Suggs, Earl Thomas, Adam Vinatieri, Richmond Webb and Marshall Yanda are first-time semifinalists in this class, too.

In his career, Holt was selected to the Pro Bowl seven times, was a first-team All-Pro once, won one Super Bowl and led the NFL in receiving yards twice. He also had at least 1,100 yards in eight straight seasons with the Rams, proving to be the model of consistency in St. Louis.

He finished with 13,382 yards and 74 touchdown receptions, which currently rank 17th and 43rd all-time in NFL history.

Holt is the only Rams representative who made it to the semifinalist stage this year, with Steven Jackson coming up short once again.

Sean Payton gives strong take on Mike Shanahan’s Hall of Fame candidacy

Sean Payton said Mike Shanahan has a better resume than some of the recent coaches that have reached the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Former Denver Broncos coach Mike Shanahan is one of nine coach semifinalists for the 2025 Pro Football Hall of Fame class.

Sean Payton, Denver’s current coach, gave Shanahan a strong endorsement during his conference call with Broncos reporters on Monday.

“I’ve had a long friendship with him,” Payton said. “What he’s accomplished though in our game, he has two Super Bowl championships. He’s been behind, I would say, the minds behind so many coaches working right now. I’d say almost a third of the league at one point has been impacted by Mike. Not only the coaching tree, I’m talking about the offensive tree.

“When I got into the league, there were two or three teams that you studied, and Denver was one of them. We’re sitting here in 2024 and we’re looking at a guy — a candidate — who quite honestly has a lot better credentials than maybe some others [who] have gone before him as coaches. He was one of the guys. [He’s] extremely intelligent and then the Super Bowls, the quarterbacks, the success and all those other things. I don’t know when the vote is or how that all unfolds, but his candidacy for someone like myself, it’s easy.

“It’s all there right in front of you. Then go ahead and look back at the last — just take the last six coaches that have gone in. Just use that number and then throw their numbers at Mike and their accomplishments and I think that’s a simple way to look at it and arrive at the right decision.”

This certainly isn’t the first time Payton has backed Shanahan. Denver’s current coach previously noted that elements of Shanahan’s offense are still used in the NFL today, and Payton said last summer that Shanny should already be in the Hall of Fame.

We should find out soon if Shanahan is advancing in the voting process.

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Former Cardinals RB Ottis Anderson hopes to advance in Hall of Fame Seniors Committee

The Cardinals’ all-time rushing leader hopefully can make it into the Hall of Fame through the Senior committee.

I had lived in St. Louis for a little over 15 months when Ottis Anderson was selected by the Cardinals with the eighth overall selection in the 1979 draft.

Charles Alexander was the most talked-about back in the draft that year (one year before ESPN began telecasting the proceedings) and was expected to be picked third overall by the Bengals. However, they selected quarterback Jack Thompson, so it was presumed the Cardinals would take Alexander. Instead, the Cardinals’ choice was Anderson. Alexander went to Cincinnati with the 12th choice and played seven seasons, totaling 2,645 yards with the high being 702 in 1980.

Anderson didn’t have an overwhelming career at Miami, where the Hurricanes were 14-29 in his four seasons and 12-21 in the last three years when he played a lot more. Still, there were 918 yards in 1976, 782 yards in 1977 and 1,266 in 1978, the first player in school history to pass 1,000 yards in a season.

Safe to say, it wasn’t a selection universally hailed from outside the organization.

Fast forward to the summer. What I’ll never forget is being at an early practice during training camp and witnessing up close the physical specimen that embodied the 6-foot-2, 220-pound Anderson. It was impressive. I could sense what a player he could be.

And he was. If there was a roof at the old Busch Stadium, Anderson would have blown it off against the Dallas Cowboys when he exploded through the line for a 76-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter of his debut game that gave the Cardinals a 21-19 lead. While Rafael Septien’s 27-yard field goal won the game for Dallas, that didn’t take anything away from Anderson’s performance.

He rushed for 193 yards that day, which was one short of Alan Ameche’s league record for a rookie and he ended the season with 1,605 yards and was honored as Offensive Rookie of the Year and first-team All-Pro.

His size, strength and speed were a handful for NFL defenses in his early years.

During his first six seasons in St. Louis, which included the strike-shortened 1982 season, Anderson played 86 games and totaled 7,364 yards (85.6 per game). To that point in NFL history, Walter Payton was the only running back to have more rushing yards in his first six seasons: 8,116 in 89 games (91.2 per game). In those six seasons, the Cardinals’ record was 39-49-1.

Now, 32 (his uniform number in St. Louis) years after his retirement following the 1992 season and 38 years after leaving the Cardinals, Anderson remains the Cardinals’ all-time leading rusher with 7,999 yards. In second place is Stump Mitchell with 4,649. After Mitchell, no other Cardinals player in the 104 years of franchise existence has reached 4,000 yards in his career.


Watch: Highlights from O.J. Anderson’s career


Wolf’s memories

In his 20th season as the Cardinals radio analyst, Ron Wolfley has vivid memories of being selected by the team in the fourth round of the 1985 draft.

He told Cards Wire, “I say this in all humility: They drafted me because of Ottis Anderson. They drafted me to come in and block and be a blocking fullback for Ottis Anderson. And one of the reasons why I say that is because when I showed up at minicamp after they drafted me, Dick Jameison, also known as big fella, who was the offensive coordinator, he walked up on me and he looked at me and he said, ‘Are you Ron Wolfley?’ And I said, ‘Yeah.’ And he looked at me and said, ‘I thought you were bigger.’

“Think about that. Here you are first day of minicamp and that’s your first exposure to your team after the draft. And you get the offensive coordinator saying, ‘I thought you were bigger!’”

In retrospect, that wasn’t surprising considering that coaches weren’t involved in the draft led by director of player personnel George Boone.

Former head coach Jim Hanifan would often tell a story about wide receiver Clyde Duncan, who was selected by the Cardinals with the 17th pick in the first round of the 1984 draft. Duncan was fast, but that was about it.

After minicamp in 1984, Hanifan approached Boone and said, “Hey, George, There’s a little problem with your first-round receiver.”

Asked what it was, Hanifan said succinctly, “He can’t catch!”

Duncan played 19 games in two seasons for the Cardinals (and in the NFL), catching four passes for 39 yards with one touchdown that fittingly came in Hanifan’s final game as the head coach.

But I digress. Back to Wolfley.

“Think of that,” he said. “I was 222 pounds in an era where every fullback was 245, 250. And yet they brought me in to block for Ottis Anderson. And what was so ironic about that is I was 6-foot, 222 pounds and Ottis was almost 6-4 (and) 228 pounds. He was bigger than I was, much bigger than I was. And I also tell you, to this day, he was one of the three guys when I came in my rookie year that let me know I was in the National Football League.

“He moved like a man who was 170 pounds. I kid you not. His feet were that good. They were unbelievable to watch how quick that he was, the burst that he had. So many people remember Ottis Anderson as the New York Giant version that won Super Bowls, right? A different guy, a completely different guy at that point in his career. When he came into the league there was nobody freakier than OJ. Nobody. I came in and they put me in a three-point stance in front him and it looked hysterical. This little kid in a three-point stance in front of this guy who was an absolute mountain and I’m behind him in the I-formation.”

Even in practice, Wolfley said Anderson routinely exhibited his abilities.

He said, “We used to do one-on-one drills against linebackers in blitz pickup. They would stand on the edge and they would rush us and there’s nobody around. There’s no offensive linemen for a reference point. It’s just you one-on-one against a guy who’s trying to get around you and it was really unfair to the running back because you had no presence. You had no feel to where the line of scrimmage was. The guy could go wherever he wanted to go. It was very difficult on the running back and it was done that way purposely so that if you could do it in that setting, you were going to be able to do it in a game. No problem.

“And Ottis Anderson was the best blocking running back in the group. He would knock the living dog out of these linebackers that were blitzing. And then we would do one-on-ones after the blitz pickup where we would pick him up in a blitz and protect the quarterback. After we would do that, we would go to one-on-ones where we’d run pass routes against them coming out of the backfield. And Juice tormented the guys that were trying to cover him coming out. That’s how quick and explosive his feet were underneath him. For a man that big it was unfair.”

Wolfley also recalls the weekly routine he had to follow as a rookie.

“He ran the running back room because he was Ottis Anderson,” Wolfley said. “And, I’ll never forget every Wednesday, I had to bring in Church’s chicken for everyone, all the veterans in the running back room and they had specific orders. Each one of them and back in the day, I think I spent over $500 and I kept all the receipts of course. This was 1985. But that was my responsibility and I made sure I did it very, very well because of juicy juice. And that’s what we used to call him, too. Juicy Juice.

“But he encouraged me so much as a young guy. He knew I was a guy that was undersized. And yeah, I tried as hard as I possibly could and blocking for him was an absolute joy as it was for Stump Mitchell. My main memory of Juice is how much respect and love I got in my heart for the guy because of how he treated me. He treated me like a king when I was nobody.”

The trade

In Jim Hanifan’s final year as head coach, many things went wrong for the Cardinals after nearly being in the playoffs the season before. That included Anderson playing only nine games because of injuries. They slumped from 9-7 to 5-11, so Hanifan was fired and replaced by Cowboys assistant coach Gene Stallings, who played for Bear Bryant at Texas A&M and then was an assistant on Bryant’s staff for 17 seasons at Alabama.

To say the relationship between Anderson and Stallings was destined for failure would be an understatement.

As Wolfley says, “Gene Stallings was going to play football his way, not Juice’s way. And Juice was not going to listen to old-school Gene come in and tell him what he was going to do and how he was gonna play. I think their personalities clashed from the very beginning. Gene was Paul Bear Bryant, man. And Gene came in and he was going to do it exactly the way he was gonna do it. Juice was not a head case, but Juice knew who he was and he knew how talented he was and he knew what he liked to do and how he liked to do it and it was directly at odds with Gene. And Gene was coming in and trying to establish his way and how he was going to do it. And it was a bad fit from the beginning.”

So it was that during the 1986 season, Anderson was traded to the Giants for second- and seventh-round picks in the 1987 draft. For history buffs, there was virtually no value in what was acquired. Shocking, I know.

The No. 2 pick (56 overall) was traded on draft day to the Dolphins for third- (70 overall) and fifth-round (126 overall) choices.

The three players drafted were Australian defensive lineman Colin Scotts (third round), punter John Bruno (fifth) and tight end William Harris (seventh). They played a grand total of 17 games with the Cardinals. Scotts was gone after 1987 (seven games), Bruno was cut before the season and Harris played 10 games before ending his NFL career with the Bucs in 1989 and the Packers in 1990. Bruno punted in three games during the ’87 strike and sadly passed away from skin cancer at the age of 27 in 1992.

When I mentioned Scotts to Wolfley, he immediately said, “I remember him well,” and launched into a hilarious account of Scott’s brief time with the Cardinals.

“First of all, Colin Scotts looked like James Bond,” Wolfley said. “He was 6-5 and 285 pounds and looked like James Bond with the same hair. It was unbelievable to see this Aussie walking around and he used to always say, ‘Hey mates.’ We used to tease him, ride him as a rookie back then. Rookies, we rode ‘em hard. We’d rip him him all the time, and he’d be like, ‘Hey, you know what, mate,’ because he used to play Australian rules football and he’d walk around, saying, ‘Hey, mates, we don’t wear equipment, we don’t wear helmets in Australian rules football, mate. And he was serious about it.”

Wolfley called the 1987 training camp at Eastern Illinois University “the most brutal training camp I was ever involved in. Colin Scotts used to walk around talking about, ‘We don’t wear equipment. We don’t have helmets and shoulder pads, mate. We play football the right way over there.’ And guys, whenever they’d go against Colin because they knew how he felt about American football, they tried to kill him. Not just block him, not just do their job. They’d literally try to kill him. So he’d go through practices and just get whipped.”

That brought back one singular memory for Wolfley:

“All of a sudden, he was on the ground and he went into a full body cramp one day. Imagine that. You’re cramped up and he’s laying on his back and every muscle in his body is cramping; a full body cramp. I remember I walked up over him and I said, ‘Hey mate. How those pads doing for you right now?’ It was a mean thing for me to do, but it was like, I’ll never forget it. But he was really arrogant when he came in and we didn’t like that. A rookie coming in and being arrogant, mocking the game we’re playing and he’s playing? He was a nice kid, but he came in with an attitude.”

The Pro Football Hall of Fame

Anderson became a power back with the Giants, playing in two Super Bowls and being the MVP in one. The first was the season in which he was traded. He became the team’s feature back in 1989 when at the age of 32 he rushed for 1,023 yards on 325 carries with 14 touchdowns and was named NFL Comeback Player of the Year.

The following season, he was named Super Bowl XXV Most Valuable Player with 102 yards on 21 carries as the Giants’ offense kept the ball away from the Buffalo Bills. Anderson had turned 34 eight days before that game.

Then-Giants head coach Bill Parcells labeled his carries “time-consuming yards,” and added, “Without him doing the heavy lifting of pounding smash-mouth football right into the teeth of the Buffalo Bills defense, there is no way we would have won that game.”

The Giants controlled the ball for 40:33 in the game won by the Giants 20-19 when Bills kicker Scott Norwood missed a 47-yard field-goal attempt as time expired.

Anderson finished his NFL career with 10,273 yards in 14 seasons, which was eighth-most in NFL history at the time of his retirement. His 81 touchdowns were seventh among running backs and his 13,335 yards from scrimmage were ninth.

At his retirement, everyone ahead of him in those categories are in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

But Anderson was never among the 15 finalists in his 20 years of modern-day eligibility and is now in the hands of the Seniors Committee, of which I am one of nine members from the overall 49-person selection committee.

We voted this week to cut 31 players to nine after which three will become finalists after a December vote and meeting, and then be discussed among the entire committee in January.

It’s a difficult path. Anderson became eligible in 1998, but voting for 25 semifinalists didn’t begin until 2004. By the time that happened, he had been out of football for 12 years. Falling through the cracks and now in what we call the Seniors Abyss.

I have often said that people looking at the Seniors being considered are probably surprised that many aren’t already in the Hall.

As an example, here are the 31:

Quarterback (3): Ken Anderson, Charlie Conerly, Jim Plunkett

Running backs (5): Ottis Anderson, Roger Craig, Chuck Foreman, Cecil Isbell, Paul “Tank” Younger

Wide receivers (5): Billy “White Shoes” Johnson (kick returner), Stanley Morgan, Art Powell, Sterling Sharpe, Otis Taylor

Offensive linemen (7): Ox Emerson, Joe Jacoby, Mike Kenn, Bob Kuechenberg, George Kunz, Jim Tyrer, Al Wistert

Defensive linemen (2): Jim Marshall, Harvey Martin

Linebackers (5): Carl Banks, Maxie Baughan, Larry Grantham, Clay Matthews Jr., Tommy Nobis

Defensive backs (4): Lester Hayes, Albert Lewis, Eddie Meador, Everson Walls

Many feel strongly that Anderson should at least have his candidacy debated as one of the nine semifinalists. Realistically, that is the case for many in the group. We will find out soon if Anderson gets further than he ever has in 28 years of eligibility.

Get more Cardinals and NFL coverage from Cards Wire’s Jess Root and others by listening to the latest on the Rise Up, See Red podcast. Subscribe on SpotifyYouTube or Apple podcasts.

 

Commanders ‘Hail Mary’ is in the Pro Football Hall of Fame

More Commanders’ items make their way to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

After his performance in a Week 3 win over the Cincinnati Bengals, Washington Commanders rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels earned a spot in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Daniels completed 21 of 23 (91.2%) passes for 254 yards and two touchdowns in Washington’s road win. The football from his final completion in that game is on display in Canton, Ohio, as he established a new NFL rookie record for single-game completion percentage.

Now, Daniels has another piece of his rookie season on display at the Hall of Fame.

The Commanders defeated the Chicago Bears on a 52-yard Hail Mary to end their Week 8 game when Daniels found wide receiver Noah Brown in the end zone as time expired. It’s the top play of the 2024 NFL season.

On Thursday, the Hall of Fame posted a message revealing that Brown’s gloves and the pylon from the Hail Mary play at Northwest Stadium are now on display in Canton. Daniels and Brown autographed each item.

Daniels is off to one of the greatest starts for a rookie — at any position — in NFL history. He has helped the Commanders to a surprising 7-2 start.