Polamalu, Jones-Drew highlight hall candidates
Five modern-era players will make final cut for professional football’s 2020 class
Eight players in their first year of eligibility highlight the 122 nominees for the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s class of 2020.
Nominees include 63 offensive players, 43 defensive players and 16 from special teams. All represent the “modern era” of football, classified as players whose careers ended within the last 25 years.
First-time nominees are running back Maurice Jones-Drew; wide receiver Reggie Wayne; safety Troy Polamalu; linebackers Lance Briggs and Patrick Willis; special-teamer Josh Cribbs; and defensive linemen Justin Smith and John Abraham.
Finalists from 2019 who weren’t elected and are back on the ballot: wide receiver Isaac Bruce; running back Edgerrin James; offensive linemen Alan Faneca, Tony Boselli and Steve Hutchinson; safeties John Lynch and Steve Atwater; and defensive lineman Richard Seymour.
In November, 25 semifinalists will be selected and the list will be narrowed to 15 finalists in January. The 48 members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame selection committee will meet the day before Super Bowl LIV to vote on the 2020 Hall of Fame class.
The 2020 class will have 20 members: five from the modern era, 10 seniors (retired for more than 25 years), two coaches and three contributors. Enshrinement ceremonies will be held next August in Canton, Ohio.
In a quest for a safer helmet, the NFL is starting a $3-million program aimed at the development of new headgear that outperforms anything currently available.
Manufacturers, engineers and entrepreneurs are all welcome to submit prototypes in the NFL Helmet Challenge, with the goal of reducing head trauma.
The league will provide $2 million in grant funding to support development, with as much as $1 million awarded for a prototype that would be used to help reduce concussions.
“Helmet technology is advancing at an impressive rate. Yet we believe that even more is possible,” Jeff Miller, the NFL’s executive vice-president for health and safety, said in a news release. “The NFL Helmet Challenge represents an unprecedented combination of financing, research, data and engineering expertise in an effort to create a more protective helmet.”
The NFL Helmet Challenge will culminate in May 2021. Participants will have access to the NFL’s video review data on helmet safety as well as models of modern football helmets.
“Innovation can be catalyzed if we engage with creative and talented people from across disciplines to attack this challenge together,” Miller said. “In collaboration with the NFL Players Association, we are making changes on and off the field in an effort to improve protection for every player. Trying to ensure that players wear the best possible helmet is a substantial part of that commitment.”
Quarterback Sam Darnold is out indefinitely with mono and will not play Monday when the New York Jets host the Cleveland Browns. But that’s only the beginning of the bad news spreading for New York.
Darnold could wind up missing more than just one game, coach Adam Gase said, and has already lost weight. The Jets play the New England Patriots in Week 3 before a bye the following week.
“(Darnold) has mono and will be out for this game,” Gase said in a dismal-toned press conference Thursday morning. “So Trevor (Siemian) will be starting. Luke Falk will be elevated (from the practice squad) at some point and be the backup. So ... that will be that.”
Le’Veon Bell played his first NFL game in 20 months last week and the running back appeared to hold up perfectly fine. Gase said Bell would not practice Thursday because of a sore shoulder, but ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported Bell was scheduled for an MRI exam.
Also not practising were inside linebacker C.J. Mosley, who injured his groin in Sunday’s loss to the Buffalo Bills, and safety Jamal Adams (hip). Defensive lineman Quinnen Williams (ankle) was also listed as not practising for the Jets, although his injury is not considered serious. Washington Redskins running back Derrius Guice is meeting with Dr. James Andrews for a second opinion on his ailing right knee.
Andrews has served as part of the Redskins medical team and is already familiar with Guice from a torn ACL in 2018, which ended his rookie season.
Guice, per the NFL Network, opted for a second opinion when his right knee failed to improve this week. Guice left the Week 1 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles after gaining 18 yards on 10 carries.
NFL Network reported Thursday that Andrews could trim the meniscus in Guice’s right knee. The surgery would likely bring a recovery time of four to six weeks.
Without Guice, Adrian Peterson is expected to be active and carry more of the load. He was a healthy scratch at Philadelphia last week, but head coach Jay Gruden said he was confident Peterson would be ready to roll when his number is called.
Washington’s offensive line struggled at Philadelphia, but the Eagles have an exceptional front four and were one of seven defences last season to hold opponents under 100 rushing yards per game (96.9).