Tag: Pro Football Hall of Fame

Jets great Nick Mangold not selected as Hall of Fame semifinalist

Jets’ Ring of Honor center Nick Mangold did not make the cut to 25 modern-day semifinalists for the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2024.

Nick Mangold will go down as one of the greatest players in Jets history. He is forever enshrined in Jets’ Ring of Honor. Unfortunately, he has to wait at least another year before being enshrined in the halls of Canton, Ohio.

The Pro Football Hall of Fame announced their 25 modern-day semifinalists for the Class of 2024. The great Jets center did not make the cut.

Mangold was inducted into the Jets’ Ring of Honor in 2022 along with offensive tackle D’Brickashaw Ferguson and cornerback Darrelle Revis. Revis was enshrined at the Hall of Fame in August, along with defensive lineman Joe Klecko.

Mangold, the 29th overall pick of the 2006 NFL draft, spent his entire 11-year career with the Jets. He was a two-time first-team All-Pro selection (2009, 2010) and seven-time Pro Bowl selection (2008-2011, 2013-2015). Mangold was also a second-team All-Pro in 2011.

As it turned out, no former Jets made the cut from 173 to 25. Other former Jets on the ballot included John Abraham, Antonio Cromartie, James Farrior, Thomas Jones, Brandon Marshall and Tony Richardson. Mangold is by far the biggest surprise of the group. Perhaps he’ll have better luck for the Class of 2025.

Two players made the semifinals in their first year on the ballot: tight end Antonio Gates and defensive end Julius Peppers.

Players that are eligible for the first time next year include Eli Manning, Luke Kuechly, Marshal Yanda, Earl Thomas, Adam Vinatieri and Marshawn Lynch.

3 former 49ers among 25 semifinalists for 2024 Hall of Fame class

Three former #49ers landed among the 25 Pro Football Hall of Fame semifinalists for the class of 2024.

The Pro Football Hall of Fame moved into the next phase of the selection process for the class of 2024 and named 25 modern-era finalists. Among the 25 semifinalists are three former 49ers.

That trio is made up of linebacker Patrick Willis, wide receiver Anquan Boldin and running back Ricky Watters.

Willis is a semifinalist for the fifth time in five years. He’s reached this stage every year he’s been eligible after spending all eight of his NFL seasons with the 49ers. Willis’ resume speaks for itself with seven Pro Bowl trips, five First-Team All-Pro nods, a Defensive Rookie of the Year award and a placement on the Hall of Fame All-Decade team for the 2010s.

Boldin was with San Francisco for three years from 2013-15. Despite being in his mid-30s he was a very productive receiver for the 49ers with 237 catches, 3,030 yards and 16 touchdowns in 46 games. Boldin finished his 14-year career with 1,076 receptions for 13,779 yards and 82 touchdowns. He was the Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2003 and a three-time Pro Bowler. This is his third time making the list of semifinalists in three years.

Watters has been a semifinalist four times now including once in 2020 and then every year from 2022-24. He was with the 49ers for his first four seasons and helped them win a Super Bowl in the 1994 campaign. Watters posted 2,840 rushing yards and 1,450 receiving yards across three years on the field for San Francisco. He also put up 33 total touchdowns while going to the Pro Bowl every year he was in red and gold. He finished his career with five total Pro Bowls, 10,463 rushing yards, 78 rushing touchdowns, 4,248 receiving yards and 13 receiving touchdowns.

The next step in the selection process includes a cutdown to 15 finalists, and then the Hall of Fame class will be announced Feb. 8 during the NFL Honors ceremony.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

Jahri Evans is a Pro Football Hall of Fame semifinalist for the Class of 2024

Former Saints great Jahri Evans is a Pro Football Hall of Fame semifinalist for the Class of 2024. The right guard earned many accolades in New Orleans:

Will this be his year? Former New Orleans Saints right guard Jahri Evans is a Pro Football Hall of Fame semifinalist for the Class of 2024, the Hall announced Tuesday. Evans is one of 25 modern-era semifinalists, along with first-timers Antonio Gates, Julius Peppers, and Tiki Barber. He also reached this stage in 2023, his first year of eligibility.

The right guard earned many accolades in New Orleans: six Pro Bowl appearances; four placements on the All-Pro first team; and a coveted spot on the Pro Football Hall of Fame All-Decade team for the 2010s. Evans won a championship ring in Super Bowl XLIV with the Saints and has joined the team’s coaching staff in his post-playing career.

We’ll have to wait and see if Evans’ resume is strong enough to set him apart from his peers. The list of 15 modern-era player finalists will be announced in the weeks ahead, with the Class of 2024 selected in February. Stay tuned.

[lawrence-auto-related count=4]

2 Steelers legends named semifinalists for Pro Football Hall of Fame

Hines Ward and James Harrison are once again semifinalists for the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

The Pro Football Hall of Fame announced the 25 semifinalists for its 2024 class, and two former Pittsburgh Steelers are among the group. Wide receiver Hines Ward is a semifinalist for the eighth time, and linebacker James Harrison is a semifinalist for the second time.

Ward holds numerous receiving records in franchise history. In 217 career games, Ward had 1,000 receptions for 12,083 yards and 85 touchdowns. He won two Super Bowl rings with Pittsburgh.

Harrison is one of the most prolific pass rushers in the franchise’s history. He is currently No. 2 all-time in franchise history with 80.5 career sacks. Harrison was Defensive Player of the Year in 2008 and that season made perhaps the greatest play in Super Bowl history, a 100-yard interception return against the Arizona Cardinals. Like Ward, he won two Super Bowl rings with Pittsburgh.

Both guys face stiff competition this year with multiple great players at linebacker and wide receiver in the mix.

  • Hines Ward, WR – 1998-2011 Pittsburgh Steelers | (Times as a Semifinalist: 8 – 2017-2024)
  • James Harrison, LB – 2002-2012, 2014-17 Pittsburgh Steelers, 2013 Cincinnati Bengals, 2017 New England Patriots | (Times as a Semifinalist: 2 – 2023-24)

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

Titans great Eddie George a semifinalist for Pro Football Hall of Fame

Titans great Eddie George is a semifinalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame class of 2024.

For the second time since he’s been eligible, Tennessee Titans great Eddie George is one of 25 modern-era semifinalists for the Pro Football Hall of Fame class of 2024. George also made the cut as a semifinalist in 2022.

The next step will be to make the group of 15 finalists, and then a final vote by the Hall of Fame’s 50-person selection committee will take place prior to Super Bowl LVIII, with the results announced on the NFL Honors show in February.

After being drafted No. 14 overall by the Houston Oilers in 1996, George played eight seasons with the franchise and become its all-time leading rusher (10,009 rushing yards), a distinction he still holds today.

Along with that, George won Rookie of the Year, made it to four Pro Bowls and was a first-team All-Pro in 2000. The Ohio State product rushed for 1,000 yards in all but one season with the Titans.

George’s 10,441 career rushing yards ranks 28th all time.

[lawrence-auto-related count=5]

Fred Taylor a Hall of Fame semifinalist for 5th straight year

Fred Taylor is one of 25 semifinalists for the Hall of Fame’s Class of 2024. Is this the year he gets in?

Former Jacksonville Jaguars running back Fred Taylor is one of 25 semifinalists for the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Class of 2024.

Taylor, 47, has now been a semifinalist in five consecutive years, but has never made it to the next round of the voting process. In January, the 15 finalists will be announced and the Class of 2024 will be formally introduced days before the Super Bowl in February.

During his 11 seasons with the Jaguars, Taylor accumulated 11,271 rushing yards, 2,361 receiving yards, and 70 total touchdowns. He later finished his career with two seasons as a member of the New England Patriots.

Taylor’s 11,695 career rushing yards are 17th most in NFL history behind 14 Hall of Famers and a pair of likely future inductees in Frank Gore and Adrian Peterson.

Only two players this year, former Chargers tight end Antonio Gates and former Panthers pass rusher Julius Peppers, are semifinalists in their first year of eligibility. Taylor is one of four running backs on the list, along with Tiki Barber, Eddie George, and Ricky Watters.

Also among the semifinalists is Torry Holt, who played 10 seasons with the St. Louis Rams before finishing his career with one year in Jacksonville. Holt has now been a semifinalist in 10 straight years and has been a finalist in each of the last four years.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

Two former Lions among 25 semifinalists for Pro Football Hall of Fame class of 2024

Two former Lions are among the 25 semifinalists for the Pro Football Hall of Fame, though neither spent much time in Detroit

The Pro Football Hall of Fame announced the 25 semifinalists for the inauguration class of 2024. Two former Lions players are among those moving on in the process.

They’re probably not who most fans would expect, however. Dwight Freeney and Anquan Boldin are the two former Lions who made the semifinalist cut. Both finished their careers in Detroit after establishing their Hall of Fame bona fides with other teams.

Among the initial 2024 nominees known primarily as Lions, none advanced. That group includes Lomas Brown, Jason Hanson, Dre Bly and Herman Moore.

[lawrence-related id=46931]

14 former Dolphins left off list of 2024 Hall of Fame class semifinalists

The Pro Football Hall of Fame trimmed down their list of 173 nominees to 25 semifinalists.

Back in September, the Pro Football Hall of Fame released their list of 173 Modern-Era nominees for the 2024 class, which included 14 players who spent time with the Miami Dolphins.

On that list were Ricky Williams, Antonio Freeman, Irving Fryar, Chad Johnson, Brandon Marshall, Wes Welker, Josh Sitton, Richmond Webb, Brendon Ayanbadejo, Karlos Dansby, Larry Izzo, Joey Porter, Troy Vincent and Matt Turk.

On Tuesday, the Hall of Fame trimmed the nominees down to 25 semifinalists, and unfortunately, none were former Dolphins.

The list of nominees includes Eric Allen, Jared Allen, Willie Anderson, Tiki Barber, Anquan Boldin, Jahri Evans, London Fletcher, Dwight Freeney, Antonio Gates, Eddie Geroge, James Harrison, Rodney Harrison, Devin Hester, Torry Holt, Andre Johnson, Robert Mathis, Julius Peppers, Smith Sr., Fred Taylor, Hines Ward, Ricky Watters, Reggie Wayne, Vince Wilfork, Patrick Willis and Darren Woodson.

15 finalists will be announced at a later date.

Cowboys CB DaRon Bland sends cleats, gloves to Canton; keeps record-setting ball

From @ToddBrock24f7: The humble CB says all of his interception balls are in a box, just waiting to be put into a display case. That case keeps getting bigger.

Attention, Dallas-area craftsmen and carpenters. DaRon Bland needs a trophy case built. There’s one small caveat, though: the measurements for that case keep getting bigger by the week.

The Cowboys cornerback set an NFL record on Thursday when he became the first player ever to return five interceptions for touchdowns within a single season. And while the second-year man still has six games to go in which to build even further upon that mark, the record-breaking pick-six cemented Bland’s place in football history.

To commemorate the feat, the Pro Football Hall of Fame has requested some of Bland’s game-day equipment to display in Canton.

Bland sent the size-14 cleats and gloves from the Cowboys’ Thanksgiving Day victory to the Hall. But the ball he snatched out of the air and returned 63 yards for the final points of the 45-10 win? That’s not going anywhere. Bland says he’s hanging onto that piece of league history.

“Yeah, definitely,” Bland told reporters this weekend, flashing that ever-present smile. “Got to.”

The 24-year-old is amassing quite a collection of souvenir balls. He led the Cowboys last year as a rookie with five interceptions. He has seven so far in 2023; no one has more since the beginning of last season than Bland, a fifth-round find by Dallas out of Fresno State.

The five passes he stole as a rookie are at home. This year’s interceptions are kept by the team until the end of the season. The picks are racking up so quickly that Bland hasn’t even figured out how or where to display them.

“No idea yet. Got to find a place for all of them,” Bland grinned. “All the balls are still in a box right now.”

[affiliatewidget_smgtolocal]

Bland was named NFC Defensive Player of the Week for last Sunday’s performance versus the Panthers, when his 30-yard pick-six of a Bryce Young pass tied the NFL record. Now his name has entered the Defensive Player of the Year conversation, too.

Just more hardware that would have to be stuffed into that planned trophy case. Might want to build it extra-large, just to be on the safe side.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

[mm-video type=video id=01hfwbp3dqh6s4799z75 playlist_id=01eqbwens7sctqdrqg player_id=none image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01hfwbp3dqh6s4799z75/01hfwbp3dqh6s4799z75-ab1b96fd5e10f7e018b58489f1472ce6.jpg]

[lawrence-newsletter]

Fletcher Cox is the Eagles nominee for 2023 Art Rooney Sportsmanship Award

Philadelphia Eagles veteran defensive tackle Fletcher Cox was nominated for this prestigious award.

The NFL released its 32 nominees for the ninth annual Art Rooney Sportsmanship Award on Wednesday morning. Since its inception in 2014, each NFL team has nominated one of its players for the award that recognizes players around the league who exemplify outstanding sportsmanship on the field. The award honors the late founding owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers and Pro Football Hall of Famer, Art Rooney Sr.

“Sportsmanship is the core of the game, the vanguard of public confidence, the keeper of game integrity,” said Troy Vincent, NFL executive vice president of football operations. “These Rooney Sportsmanship Award nominees exemplify the spirit of fair play and the values of respect, integrity, commitment to team, and resiliency at the highest level of competition.”

Philadelphia Eagles veteran defensive tackle Fletcher Cox was nominated for this prestigious award. His extraordinary leadership and sportsmanship could be seen throughout this season as he helps out the younger guys on defense while still putting up great numbers on the field.

Current NFL player’s votes determine the Art Rooney Sportsmanship Award winner. The winner will be announced during NFL Honors and receive a $25,000 donation from the NFL Foundation to a charity of his choice.

Since 2014, no Philadelphia Eagles and one defensive tackle, Calais Campbell of the Baltimore Ravens, has won the award.