Antonio Gates, Eli Manning stand out in crowd of 167 nominees for Hall of Fame's '25 Class
CANTON — The debate begins as to whether Eli Manning belongs in the Pro Football Hall of Fame with his brother Peyton.
Eli Manning is among 167 modern-era players nominated for the Class of 2025, on a list released today. Like his brother, Eli Manning won two Super Bowls, but whereas Peyton’s regular-season record was an overwhelming 186-79, Eli’s was an ordinary 117-117.
Joining Manning as nominees in their first year of eligiblity are linebackers Luke Kuechly and Terrell Suggs; running backs Marshawn Lynch and Darren Sproles; wide receiver Demaryius Thomas; tight ends Vernon Davis and Delanie Walker; offensive linemen Travis Frederick, Ryan Kalil, Joe Staley and Marshal Yanda; defensive backs Antoine Bethea, Aqib Talib and Earl Thomas; and kicker Adam Vinatieri.
The list will be reduced to 50 (plus ties, if any, for the 50th spot) in mid-October and to 25 later this autumn. Eventually, as few as three and as many as five modern-era nominees will become part of the Class of 2025.
The nominees list is peppered with names of local interest. One is ex-Brown Josh Cribbs, whose candidacy as a special teams standout seems improved now that Devin Hester is in the Hall as a member of the Class of 2024.
Other nominees who spent time with the Browns include kicker Matt Stover, versatile Eric Metcalf, running back Jamal Lewis, defensive end-linebacker Willie McGinest, receiver Andre Rison, left tackle Lomas Brown, defensive tackle Ted Washington, and quarterbacks Jeff Garcia and Jake Delhomme.
Former Ohio State Buckeyes on the list include running back Eddie George, linebacker Mike Vrabel (Walsh Jesuit), running back Robert Smith and center Nick Mangold.
One of the likeliest nominees to wind up in the Class of 2025 is tight end Antonio Gates, a former Kent State basketball star. Many believed he should have been part of the Class of 2024. Linebacker James Harrison, who played football at Coventry High School and Kent State, is another nominee with a realistic chance of eventually making it to Canton.
Nominees associated with the Cincinnati Bengals include linebacker Takeo Spikes, offensive tackle Willie Anderson, receiver Chad Johnson and running back Corey Dillon.
The breakdown of the 167 modern-era players includes:
16 players in their first year of eligibility
94 offensive players
56 defensive players
17 special teams players
Players must have last played at least five full seasons ago to be eligible for nomination. Therefore, any individual who last played in 2019 is eligible for the first time in 2025. The full list of nominees follows below:
Modern-era player nominees for the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2025
* Denotes a finalist for the Class of 2024.
QUARTERBACKS (10): Marc Bulger, Randall Cunningham, Jake Delhomme, Doug Flutie, Rich Gannon, Jeff Garcia, Donovan McNabb, Eli Manning, Steve McNair, Tony Romo
RUNNING BACKS (31): Shaun Alexander, Terry Allen, Jamal Anderson, Tiki Barber, Larry Centers (FB), Jamaal Charles, Stephen Davis, Corey Dillon, Warrick Dunn, Charlie Garner, Eddie George, Priest Holmes, Steven Jackson, Chris Johnson, Thomas Jones, John Kuhn (FB), Vonta Leach, Dorsey Levens, Jamal Lewis, Marshawn Lynch, Eric Metcalf (also WR/PR/KR), Glyn Milburn (also WR), Lorenzo Neal (FB), Clinton Portis, Tony Richardson (FB), Robert Smith, Darren Sproles (also PR/KR), Fred Taylor*, Chris Warren, Ricky Watters, Ricky Williams
WIDE RECEIVERS (21): Torry Holt*, Joe Horn, Chad Johnson, Brandon Marshall, Derrick Mason, Herman Moore, Muhsin Muhammad, Jordy Nelson, Andre Rison, Jimmy Smith, Rod Smith, Steve Smith Sr., Demaryius Thomas, Hines Ward, Reggie Wayne*, Wes Welker, Roddy White
TIGHT ENDS (6): Ben Coates, Vernon Davis, Antonio Gates*, Jeremy Shockey, Delanie Walker, Wesley Walls
OFFENSIVE LINEMEN (26): Willie Anderson* (T), Bruce Armstrong (T/G), Matt Birk (C), Lomas Brown (T), Ruben Brown (G), Jahri Evans* (G), Travis Frederick (C), Jordan Gross (T), Ryan Kalil (C), Lincoln Kennedy (T), Olin Kreutz (C), T.J. Lang (G/T), Nick Mangold (C), Logan Mankins (G), Tom Nalen (C), Jeff Saturday (C), Mark Schlereth (G/C), Josh Sitton (G), Chris Snee (G), Joe Staley (T), Dave Szott (G), Brian Waters (G), Richmond Webb (T), Erik Williams (T), Steve Wisniewski (G), Marshal Yanda (G)
DEFENSIVE LINEMEN (18): John Abraham (DE also LB), Jared Allen* (DE), La’Roi Glover (DT/NT), Casey Hampton (DT/NT), Robert Mathis (DE), Chester McGlockton (DT), Haloti Ngata (DT), Simeon Rice (DE), Clyde Simmons (DE/DT), Neil Smith (DE), Henry Thomas (DT/NT), Justin Tuck (DE), Ted Washington (NT/DT), Vince Wilfork (DT/NT), Jamal Williams (DT/NT), Kevin Williams (DT), Pat Williams (DT)
LINEBACKERS (20): Jessie Armstead, Brendon Ayanbadejo, Cornelius Bennett, Lance Briggs, Keith Brooking, NaVorro Bowman, Tedy Bruschi, Donnie Edwards, James Farrior, London Fletcher, James Harrison, Luke Kuechly, Willie McGinest (also DE), Ken Norton Jr., Julian Peterson, Bill Romanowski, Takeo Spikes, Terrell Suggs, Mike Vrabel, Lee Woodall
DEFENSIVE BACKS (18): Eric Allen (CB), Eric Berry (DB), Antoine Bethea (S), Dré Bly (DB), Kam Chancellor (S), Nick Collins (DB), Antonio Cromartie (CB), DeAngelo Hall (DB), Rodney Harrison* (S), Eugene Robinson (DB), Samari Rolle (DB), Allen Rossum (DB), Bob Sanders (S), Aqib Talib (CB), Earl Thomas (S), Charles Tillman (CB), Troy Vincent (CB), Darren Woodson* (S)
PUNTERS/KICKERS (15): David Akers (K), Gary Anderson (K), Darren Bennett (P), Jason Elam (K), Jeff Feagles (P), Jason Hanson (K), John Kasay (K), Sean Landeta (P), Shane Lechler (P), Pat McAfee (P), Brian Moorman (P), Matt Stover (K), Matt Turk (P), Mike Vanderjagt (K), Adam Vinatieri (K)
SPECIAL TEAMS (2): Josh Cribbs (KR/PR also WR), Brian Mitchell (KR/PR also RB)
Pro Football Hall of Fame selection process
The full 50-member Pro Football Hall of Fame Selection Committee will meet next year (on a date still to be determined) in advance of Super Bowl 59 to choose the Class of 2025. At that point, there will be 20 total finalists for the Class of 2025 — 15 modern-era players finalists, three seniors finalists, a coach finalist and a contributor finalist.
The modern-era players finalists will be trimmed during the annual selection meeting from 15 to 10, then to seven. Committee members then will vote for five of the seven finalists.
Ultimately, finalists in each category must receive at least 80% support from the Selection Committee to join the Class of 2025.
The Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Class of 2025 will be enshrined next August in Canton.
This article originally appeared on The Repository: Eli Manning, Antonio Gates among 167 NFL nominees for Hall of Fame
