Broncos fans see Hall of Fame make familiar mistake once more
Legendary Denver Broncos linebacker Randy Gradishar will not be elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame with its next class. How does this keep happening?
On Wednesday, the Pro Football Hall of Fame announced three senior finalists for the class of 2023, and almost amazingly, Randy Gradishar was not among them.
The three former players who were named finalists were Dallas Cowboys linebacker Chuck Howley, Cincinnati Bengals defensive back Ken Riley and New York Jets defensive end Joe Klecko.
No disrespect to any of those guys, as they were all great, but Gradishar was arguably better than all of them and his resume speaks for itself. I could go on the rant of Gradishar’s on-field accomplishments again, but I have done that before.
It’s absolutely ridiculous at this point.
The fact that Gradishar does seem to be making progress and getting closer on the list to get in is encouraging, but he should have been in so long ago.
And that’s not just some Broncos bias, either.
Gradishar was legitimately one of the best defensive players of all time. He was the best defensive player on one of the best team defenses — The Orange Crush — that the league has ever known.
It’s almost unfathomable that not one player from that defense is enshrined in the Hall of Fame, but if Gradishar is not in, you definitely can’t make a case for anyone else from that group.
The Denver Broncos have been playing football since 1960. In over six decades of football, Gradishar is on a very short list of the best players in team history.
Per source close to situation, 3 senior player nominations went to Ken Riley, Howley, Klecko.
— Mike Klis (@mikeklis) August 17, 2022
Riley was my No. 1 (65 INTs).
But come on, Randy Gradishar arguably most decorated.
And it's bigger than Gradishar. It's about great Orange Crush D having ZERO players in HOF. #9sports
His playing career ended 40 years ago, so he obviously can’t add to that and will just have to hope that those around the decision-making process remember just how good he was. But each year that passes, those memories become a bit more distant.
It’s hard to find highlights from his days on the field, but there are some out there (video).
For those who never saw him play, he played the inside linebacker position as well as any player in that era did. There wasn’t anything he couldn’t do on the field.
You could make a very compelling argument that he is the best player in history that is not already in the Hall of Fame. This news comes on the heels of the Hall of Fame inducting somewhat of a questionable class a couple of weeks ago, prompting NFL legend Deion Sanders to question its process.
Next. Who were the first 5 players cut by the Broncos?. dark
So to the voters of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, find a way to get this man into Canton. It’s long, long overdue.