Former Patriots Richard Seymour a semifinalist for Pro Football Hall of Fame
The Pro Football Hall of Fame whittled the list of nominees for the 2020 class to 25 semifinalists. Former Patriots defensive end Richard Seymour moved on for the third year in a row.
Tedy Bruschi, Ben Coates, Corey Dillon, Willie McGinest, and Rodney Harrison were among the notable former Patriots who were part of the 122-member list of modern-era player nominees that did not reach the semifinals.
In his 12-year career, Seymour had 57.5 sacks, 39 of which came in his eight seasons with the Patriots. Last year, Bill Belichick wrote a letter to the selection committee advocating for Seymour to be selected.
Running back Fred Taylor, who spent the final two seasons of his career with the Patriots, is also a semifinalist.
The list will be cut to 15 finalists on Jan. 2, 2020.
There are no quarterbacks or tight ends among the semifinalists. Here’s the full list of semifinalists, by position:
Running backs: Edgerrin James, Fred Taylor, Ricky Watters.
Wide receivers: Isaac Bruce, Torry Holt, Hines Ward, Reggie Wayne.
Offensive linemen: Tony Boselli, Alan Faneca, Steve Hutchinson.
Defensive linemen: Simeon Rice, Richard Seymour, and Bryant Young.
Linebackers: Carl Banks, Clay Matthews, Sam Mills, Zach Thomas, and Patrick Willis.
Defensive backs: Steve Atwater, Ronde Barber, LeRoy Butler, John Lynch, Troy Polamalu, and Darren Woodson.
Special teams: Steve Tasker.
Ben Volin: Early Super Bowls should be landing more Patriots in Hall of Fame
Chad Finn: Why aren’t more Patriots in the NFL Hall of Fame?
To comment, please create a screen name in your profile
To comment, please verify your email address
Conversation
This discussion has ended. Please join elsewhere on Boston.com