Meeting virtually for 7 hours, 29 minutes on Jan. 18, the Pro Football Hall of Fame's 49-member selection committee pushed younger finalists like former Vikings defensive end Jared Allen to the backburner while ushering in five modern-era players who had been eligible for 20, 16, 16, 10 and five years.
Former Vikings defensive end Jared Allen misses cut for Pro Football Hall of Fame
The former Vikings defensive end was on the ballot for the second time and his candidacy provoked a lengthy discussion among voters, who opted for players who have waited more years for the honor.
February 11, 2022 at 1:26PM
Allen was in his second year of eligibility and second year as a finalist. The discussion on him lasted 20 minutes, 55 seconds — fifth-longest among the 18 finalists — but Allen did not make the cut from 15 modern-era finalists to 10.
Selected to the Class of 2022 were Seniors Candidate Cliff Branch, Contributors Candidate Art McNally, Coaches Candidate Dick Vermeil and five modern-era candidates: The late Saints and Panthers linebacker Sam Mills, a three-time finalist who was in his 20th and final year as a modern-era candidate; Packers safety LeRoy Butler, a three-time finalist in his 16th year of eligibility; Jaguars left tackle Tony Boselli, a six-time finalist in his 16th year of eligibility; 49ers defensive tackle Bryant Young, a two-time finalist in his 10th year of eligibility; and Patriots defensive lineman Richard Seymour, a four-time finalist in his fifth year of eligibility.
Three players — Bears kick returner Devin Hester, Texans receiver Andre Johnson and Cowboys and Broncos defensive end DeMarcus Ware — were in the running for first-ballot selection. All three made the cut from 15 to 10 but were eliminated in the cut to five.
Allen and Ware presented a positional logjam for selectors trying to decide between two edge rushers with similar careers and sack numbers. Ware ranks ninth on the NFL's official career sacks list with 138 ½. Allen ranks 12th with 136 sacks.
Ware was second-team All-Decade in the 2000s and won a Super Bowl with the Broncos. Allen didn't make an All-Decade team and lost in his only Super Bowl appearance as a Panther to Ware's Broncos.
Both players were four-time first-team All-Pro picks.
One reason Allen didn't make an All-Decade team is his career started in 2004 and ended in 2015. His decade of dominance came from 2004-13 when he led the league in sacks with 128 ½ (Ware was second with 117). In a six-season span from 2007-12, Allen made the Associated Press' first-team All-Pro team four times, three with the Vikings. No other defensive end made it more than once.
Allen was a fourth-round pick of the Chiefs in 2004. He played for four teams and retired after playing in Super Bowl 50 with the Panthers. In 2007 with the Chiefs, he earned his first first-team All-Pro selection and led the league in sacks with 15 ½ while playing only 14 games due to a league suspension.
The Chiefs shipped him to the Vikings for a first- and two third-round picks before the 2008 draft. Considered a character risk at the time, Allen never missed a game as a Viking. He had 85 ½ sacks in 96 games and helped the Vikings to the playoffs in 2008, 2009 and 2012. He had an NFL-leading and Vikings team-record 22 sacks in 2011.
The logjam at edge rusher could get even tighter next year when Dwight Freeney becomes eligible. Freeney is 18th on the career sacks list (125 ½), won a Super Bowl and was first-team on the NFL's All-Decade Team of the 2000s.
Besides Allen, the selection committee also used the cut from 15 to 10 modern-era finalists to eliminate offensive tackle Willie Anderson, linebacker Patrick Willis and receivers Torry Holt and Reggie Wayne.
Missing the cut to five were Ware, Johnson, Hester, linebacker Zach Thomas and cornerback Ronde Barber.
Mike Conley was in Minneapolis, where he sounded the Gjallarhorn at the Vikings game, on Sunday during the robbery.
