Sourdough Sam
Well-known member
- Mar 20, 2019
- 1,637
- 0
John Lynch, Patrick Willis, Ricky Watters, Bryant Young and Isaac Bruce are among the 25 semifinalists of the Modern-Era players for the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Class of 2020.
Willis, a first-year eligible player, is joined by Watters and Young, who are semifinalists for the first time. Lynch makes his eighth year as a semifinalist and Bruce is a six-time semifinalist. To be considered for election to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, a nominated individual must not have participated as an active player for five consecutive seasons.
The nominees include 10 offensive players, 14 defensive players and one special teams player.
According to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, the 25 Modern-Era players list will be reduced to 15 finalists that will be announced on Jan. 2, 2020. The finalists will then be presented to the full 48-member Pro Football Hall of Fame Selection Committee during its annual meeting on “Selection Saturday,” on Feb. 1, 2020, the day before Super Bowl LIV. The Selection Committee will elect five Modern-Era players for the Class of 2020.
The Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Class of 2020 will be introduced during NFL Honors, a two-hour primetime awards special to air nationally on the eve of Super Bowl LIV at 9 p.m. (ET and PT) on FOX. NFL Honors will be taped earlier that evening at the Adrienne Arsht Center in Miami when the Hall of Fame’s Centennial Class of 2020 will be brought together for the first time. In addition, the NFL and The Associated Press will announce their annual accolades during the awards show with the winners on hand to accept their awards.
The Centennial Class of 2020 will be formally enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame during the annual Enshrinement Week Powered by Johnson Controls from Aug. 6-9, 2020 and the Centennial Celebration in Canton on Sept. 16-19, 2020.
Here’s more on the five 49ers who are nominated for the Class of 2020.
RB Ricky Watters – Watters was a three-time Pro Bowler as a member of the 49ers. The running back rushed for 2,840 yards and 25 touchdowns in his three-year career in San Francisco and also hauled in 140 receptions for 1,450 yards and eight touchdowns. Watters was a member of the 49ers Super Bowl XXIX championship team.
WR Isaac Bruce – Bruce finished his 16-year NFL career with San Francisco. The receiver hauled in 82 passes for 1,099 yards and seven touchdowns in his two seasons with the 49ers.
DT Bryant Young – The 49ers first round (seventh overall) pick in the 1994 NFL Draft earned four trips to the Pro Bowl and was named as an All-Pro in 1996, 1998, 1999 and 2001 and was a part of San Francisco’s Super Bowl XXIX championship team.
LB Patrick Willis – The 49ers former first-round pick in the 2007 draft played his entire eight-year career with San Francisco. Willis earned seven trips to the Pro Bowl, was a six-time All-Pro, named the 2007 AP Defensive Rookie of the Year and was named to the PFWA All-Rookie Team in 2007.
S John Lynch – San Francisco’s general manager constructed one of the all-time great NFL careers while with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1993-2003) and the Denver Broncos (2004-07). A four-time All-Pro and nine-time Pro Bowl selection, he played in 224 games (191 starts) and registered 1,054 tackles, 13.0 sacks, 26 interceptions, 16 forced fumbles, eight fumble recoveries and 100 passes defended.