The Cincinnati Bengals have always struggled getting players into the NFL Hall of Fame. That much is clear. After all, the team has only managed to deliver one of their former players to Canton, Ohio and that was arguably the greatest offensive lineman in the history of professional football. This past year, they have had one of their most influential players from the past thirty years on the ballad and once again he failed to push his candidacy through.
Elite Bengals Offensive Lineman Fails to Make Hall of Fame
On Thursday Night, the Hall of Fame class of 2024 was announced that included Colts defensive end Dwight Freeney, Bears return specialist Devin Hester, Texans wide receiver Andre Johnson, Panthers defensive end Julius Peppers and 49ers linebacker Patrick Willis. Two senior players also made the Hall of Fame but unfortunately star Cincinnati offensive tackle Willie Anderson was not among the inductees announced on Thursday evening.
Anderson was an elite offensive tackle that had an excellent eleven year career for Cincinnati that included four All-Pro honors and numerous elite rushing offenses. Anderson was renowned as being a superstar offensive tackle for his entire career but the painful reality is that it takes a much larger list of accomplishments. As much as I wish Anderson made his way to Canton this year, the five players who made the Hall of Fame certainly deserved it.
Peppers, for example, ranks fourth in the all time rankings for career sacks with 159.5 and has been named to seven different All-Pro teams. Hester is widely considered the greatest kick returned of all time and was hardly a difficult pick to predict. Willis was a remarkable linebacker who managed to be named to six All-Pro teams in a short seven year career. Freeney and Johnson have fairly similar resumes to Anderson but were both far more glamorous positions as a defensive end and wide receiver.
A painful part of the Hall of Fame announcement should be that Anderson was amongst the best tackles of his generation but unfortunately suffered by playing for Cincinnati. For example: if Anderson had played for New England and won two Super Bowls towards the end of his career, he would have a much stronger argument. The problem is that he played for a mediocre Cincinnati team that managed to draft bust after bust during the late 1990s to early 2000s.
Anderson was considered one of the most influential players in the Cincinnati locker room and is one of the most well respected players to come through the organization in the past thirty years. Unfortunately for him, the organization simply couldn’t make better decisions during his career to help improve his resume.
For More Football News:
Follow me on Twitter at @Super_Squatch76. To read more of our articles and keep up to date on the latest in college and NFL news, click here! If there is a topic you’d like me to cover or a question you’d like to ask, feel free to contact me at my email timothy.mcbride76@gmail.com.