ExtremeRavens Posted October 23 Posted October 23 Two-time Super Bowl Most Valuable Player Eli Manning, former NFL Defensive Players of the Year Luke Kuechly and Terrell Suggs, and prolific tight end Antonio Gates are among the players who advanced to the next stage in voting for the 2025 Pro Football Hall of Fame class. Suggs joined Haloti Ngata and Marshal Yanda as former Ravens advancing to the next step in the process. The Hall announced Wednesday the 50 modern era candidates who advanced from the original list of 167 after voting by a newly created screening committee. The list includes eight players in their first year of eligibility, including Ngata and Suggs, and 10 players who were finalists last year but didn’t get enough support. The full selection committee will next reduce the list of nominees to 25 semifinalists in about four weeks. Then 15 finalists will be picked for the annual meeting before the Super Bowl that will produce the new class. Players must get 80% of votes to get in with between three and five players getting in as modern era candidates. There will also be votes for three seniors candidates, one contributor and one coach with between one and three people from that group getting into the Hall. Leading the group of candidates in their first year of eligibility were Manning, Kuechly, Suggs and postseason kicking hero Adam Vinatieri. The others two key members of Seattle’s Super Bowl-winning team in the 2013 season in running back Marshawn Lynch and safety Earl Thomas, a former Raven; two-time All-Pro guard Yanda; and longtime San Francisco 49ers left tackle Joe Staley. Gates and defensive lineman Jared Allen headline the group of returning finalists from last year along with receivers Torry Holt and Reggie Wayne; offensive linemen Willie Anderson, a former Raven, and Jahri Evans; defensive backs Darren Woodson, Eric Allen and Rodney Harrison; and running back Fred Taylor. Others who played for the Ravens on the list include quarterback Steve McNair (2006-07), wide receivers Anquan Boldin (2010-12) and Steve Smith Sr. (2014-16), tight end Ben Coates (2000) and offensive lineman Erik Williams (2001). Boldin and Smith rank ninth and 11th, respectively, on the Ravens’ all-time receiving yards list. Kuechly and Suggs were among the top defensive players of their era with Kuechly selected as the top defensive player in 2013 and Suggs in 2011. Suggs was one of the top pass rushers in the league over his 17-year career, with his 139 sacks ranking eighth best since they became an official stat in 1982. Suggs had seven double-digit sack seasons in his 16 seasons with Baltimore, including 14 in 2011 when he was selected as the top defensive player in the league and led the NFL with seven forced fumbles. He won Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2003 and helped the Ravens win the Super Bowl in the 2012 season. He finished his career in Kansas City where he helped the Chiefs win the Super Bowl in the 2019 season. Ngata played for the Ravens from 2006 to 2014, making five Pro Bowls and winning one Super Bowl. The monstrous defensive tackle played his college football at Oregon, and he played for the Detroit Lions and Philadelphia Eagles at the end of his professional career. He finished his career with 515 tackles, including 32 1/2 sacks. READER POLL: How would you grade the Ravens’ season so far? Yanda, an eight-time Pro Bowl participant, played for the Ravens from 2007 to 2019. The former Iowa great is among the top offensive linemen to play for John Harbaugh in Baltimore, as Yanda was Pro Football Focus’ top-ranked guard in the NFL in 2014, 2015 and 2016. Manning will look to follow his brother Peyton into the Hall following a standout career with the New York Giants. Manning was picked first overall in the 2004 draft and spent his entire career in New York. He led the Giants to an upset win over the undefeated New England Patriots in the Super Bowl following the 2007 season, throwing a game-winning TD pass to Plaxico Burress in the final minute. He led another late TD drive to upset Tom Brady and the Patriots four years later. Manning is one of 13 QBs to win multiple Super Bowls with eight of the nine who are eligible for the Hall getting inducted. Only Jim Plunkett has not been inducted along with more recent players such as Brady, Ben Roethlisberger and Patrick Mahomes, who aren’t eligible. Plunkett has advanced in voting for the seniors candidates. Manning was a four-time Pro Bowler but never made All-Pro or led the league in a major statistical category in a season but finished his career with 57,023 yards passing and 366 TDs. His best moments were in those two postseason runs. Manning joined Brady (five), Mahomes (three), Joe Montana (three), Bart Starr (two) and Terry Bradshaw (two) as the only multiple winners of Super Bowl MVP awards. View the full article Quote
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