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Rob Gronkowski joins Logan Mankins, Adam Vinatieri on Patriots Hall of Fame ballot
Fans will pick which player gets in this year.
The Patriots announced three finalists on Wednesday for this year’s Patriots Hall of Fame class.
Rob Gronkowski, Logan Mankins, and Adam Vinatieri were selected by a 20-person nomination committee.
Each year, the Patriots induct at least one player into the Patriots Hall of Fame. Contributors, such as coaches, broadcasters, and owners have also been inducted in the past. The results are decided by a fan vote.
This is Gronkowski’s first year eligible for the honor. Mankins is a three-time finalist. Vinatieri, who was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame during Super Bowl week, is a two-time finalist.
Gronkowski, who recently returned to Foxborough and signed a 1-day contract to retire as a Patriot, is a five-time Pro Bowler and four-time first-team All-Pro at tight end. He was a member of three of the Patriots’ six championship teams. He has the most total touchdowns (80) in Patriots history, and he’s second in receiving yards. He is third among NFL tight ends in touchdowns and sixth in receiving yards. He won the NFL’s Comeback Player of the Year award in 2014. He later won a fourth championship with Brady in Tampa Bay.
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Mankins is a seven-time Pro Bowler and five-time second-team All-Pro selection at offensive guard. While he started 130 games, including 17 in the postseason for the Patriots, he missed out on the Patriots’ championship window having played in New England from 2005-2013. He played nine of his 11 NFL seasons with the Patriots, and the Patriots were top 10 in offense during eight of those years.
Vinatieri, who already has a place in Canton, holds the NFL records for most points scored (2,673) and most made field-goals (599). He played 24 seasons in the NFL, most of which he spent with the Colts after a decade long stint with the Patriots. He was a member of New England’s first three Super Bowl championship teams and later won a fourth with the Colts. He made the go-ahead kicks in Super Bowl XXXVI, Super Bowl XXXVIII, and the Tuck Rule game.
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The five most recent Patriots Hall of Fame inductees are Julian Edelman, Bill Parcells, Tom Brady, Mike Vrabel, and Richard Seymour.
Edelman beat Mankins and Vinatieri in the fan vote last year.
The team will announce this year’s results sometime in the week after the fan vote concludes on April 28th.
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