The Pro Football Hall of Fame announced the 15 finalists for the class of 2023 on Wednesday night, and three first-year eligible players are on the list.
Cornerback Darrelle Revis, offensive tackle Joe Thomas And hard-edged Dwight Freeney made the cut five years after the end of their careers.
In addition, safety Darren Woodson and Portuguese linebacker Albert Lewis qualified as finalists for the first time. Lewis is in his twentieth year of eligibility and Woodson is fifteen.
The selectors will consider the modern-day nominees in a virtual meeting prior to Super Bowl LVII, with the new class announced Jan. 9 during the NFL Honors Show in Arizona. The class of 2023 will include a maximum of five modern-day candidates, each of whom must receive a minimum of 80 percent positive votes in the election.
Seniors finalists Chuck Hawley, Joe Klikow, Ken Riley and head coach/contributor Don Coryell are in the running.
Polling in the modern era began with 129 candidates initially reduced to 28 semi-finalists.
Here are the 15 finalists of the modern era:
• Jared Allen, Defensive End – 2004-07 Kansas City Chiefs, 2008-2013 Minnesota Vikings, 2014-15
Chicago Bears Carolina Panthers 2015
• Willie Anderson, Offensive Tackle – 1996-2007 Cincinnati Bengals, 2008 Baltimore Ravens
• Rond Barber, Cornerback / Safety – 1997-2012 Tampa Bay Buccaneers
• Dwight Freeney, Defensive End/Outside Linebacker – 2002-2012 Indianapolis Colts, 2013-14
San Diego Chargers, 2015 Arizona Cardinals, 2016 Atlanta Falcons, 2017 Seattle Seahawks, 2017
Detroit Lions
• Devin Hester, Punt Returner / Kick Returner / Wide Receiver – 2006-2013 Chicago Bears, 2014-15 Atlanta Falcons, 2016 Baltimore Ravens
• Torey Holt, Wide Receiver – 1999-2008 St. Louis Rams, 2009 Jacksonville Jaguars
• Andre Johnson, Wide Receiver – 2003-2014 Houston Texans, 2015 Indianapolis Colts, 2016
Tennessee Titans
• Albert Lewis, cornerback – 1983-1993 Kansas City Chiefs, 1994-98 Los Angeles/Oakland Raiders
• Darryl Reeves, Cornerback – 2007-2012 New York Jets, 2013 Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 2014
New England Patriots, 2015-16 New York Jets, 2017 Kansas City Chiefs
• Joe Thomas, Offensive Tackle – 2007-2017 Cleveland Browns
• Zack Thomas, Linebacker – 1996-2007 Miami Dolphins, 2008 Dallas Cowboys
• DeMarcus Ware, Linebacker / Defensive End – 2005-2013 Dallas Cowboys, 2014-16 Denver
Bronco
• Reggie Wayne, Wide Receiver – 2001-2014 Indianapolis Colts
• Patrick Willis, Linebacker – 2007-2014 San Francisco 49ers
• Darren Woodson, Safety – 1992-2003 Dallas Cowboys
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