The Pro Football Hall of Fame announced that 34 seniors candidates are moving onto the next phase of the selection process for the Class of 2026.
A group of 52 names was cut down to 34 by the Hall of Fame’s blue-ribbon committee for seniors candidates. Players in this group last could have appeared in a game during the 2000 season.
The members of the committee voted for 25 players each with the top 25 plus ties moving on to the next round of voting. The group will be cut to nine semifinalists next month and three finalists will move on to the Hall of Fame’s selection committee for consideration.
The full list of candidates is:
Quarterbacks: Ken Anderson, Charlie Conerly, Roman Gabriel.
Running backs: Roger Craig, Chuck Foreman, Cecil Isbell, Paul “Tank” Younger.
Wide receivers/Tight ends: Isaac Curtis, Lavvie Dilweg, Henry Ellard, Harold Jackson, Stanley Morgan, Art Powell, Otis Taylor.
Offensive linemen: Joe Jacoby, Mike Kenn, Bob Kuechenberg, Jim Tyrer, Al Wistert.
Defensive linemen: L.C. Greenwood, Jim Marshall.
Linebackers: Carl Banks, Maxie Baughan, Larry Grantham, Lee Roy Jordan, Clay Matthews Jr., Tommy Nobis.
Defensive backs: Dick Anderson, Bobby Boyd, Albert Lewis, Eddie Meador, Lemar Parrish, Everson Walls.
Special teams: Steve Tasker.
The Patriots are one of the hottest teams in the NFL, with four straight victories and a schedule that contains plenty of objectively winnable games.
Still, every team (with a few exceptions) is good enough to win a game on any given Sunday. Or Monday. Or Thursday.
New England’s next opponent is the 2-5 Browns. And while they’ve had their issues offensively, their defense is very good. Patriots coach Mike Vrabel was asked on Wednesday whether it’s the best his team has faced this season.
“Yeah, I mean, I think just statistically and play style,” Vrabel said. “They’re playing at a high level, they’re with playing a lot of confidence. It’s a lot of speed, a lot of disruption. They don’t give you a whole lot of time to make decisions. And then there’s enough changeups in there that you just have to be good. You have to be sound, can’t hold on to the ball. Coverage is sticky and the linebackers are fast.”
Vrabel spent 2024 with the Browns as a consultant, so he knows a thing or two about the team’s defensive identity.
“Well, they’re fast, they’re disruptive,” Vrabel said. “They put pressure on the quarterback, and they do it through their players and their identity. They understand what they want to do and how they want to play. They want to force you into mistakes if you give up loose plays or guys get on the edge of somebody. You’ve got an elite edge rusher on the outside, and if you can’t step up, it’s going to be hard to protect. And then the corners are going to be sticky, the linebackers all can run, safeties are very good tacklers. And that’s the thing that I’ve noticed, is that if a ball breaks, eight yards is a really long run against this team because the safeties are such good tacklers, Grant [Delpit] and Ronnie [Hickman].”
The Browns currently have the No. 1 defense, with 256.1 yards allowed per game. They’re tied for 13th in scoring defense, allowing 21.7 points per game.
New England is favored by seven points over the Browns. Another win would push the Patriots’ record to 6-2. Not bad for a team that won eight games in 2023 and 2024 combined.
The Patriots blew open a close game with the Titans after halftime last Sunday and edge rusher K’Lavon Chaisson played a big role in that.
One play after the Pats extended their lead to 24-13 in the third quarter, Chaisson pressured Titans quarterback Cam Ward into a fumble. Chaisson was credited with a sack, although Ward lost control of the ball without being contacted, and then scooped up the fumble for a four-yard touchdown return.
Chaisson also had a more traditional sack in the 31-13 win and he was credited with three tackles overall.
The NFL announced on Wednesday that Chaisson was named the AFC defensive player of the week in recognition of that performance. It’s a first for Chaisson, who has 4.5 sacks on the season and is now a half-sack away from tying his single-season high.
Things got messy for North Carolina football a couple of weeks ago. While the team still hasn’t beaten a Power Four opponent, the off-field storms have largely subsided.
Case in point: Assistant coach Armond Hawkins, who was suspended as part of an investigation regarding the potential giving of extra benefits to players, has been reinstated.
“Yeah, he’s back,” coach Bill Belichick told reporters earlier this week, via the Associated Press. “The university cleared him, they went through their process with him and he’s back, yes.”
Belichick also was asked whether his program is dong enough to ensure full compliance with the various NCAA rules and regulations.
“I would say if anything, I feel like maybe we’ve spent too much time on it, to be honest with you,” Belichick said. “I mean, we’ve gone over and over and over it to make sure that we have it right. And every time we check it, ‘Hey, I just want to triple-check and make sure we’re OK on this? Yes, yes.’ . . . Right now we’re still making sure that we’re trying to do every single thing right. I think that’s the right thing to do.”
At the halfway point of Belichick’s first season in Chapel Hill, the Tar Heels are 2-4. Their most recent loss was their closest yet, 21-18 at Cal. North Carolina’s next opportunity to get a victory comes on Saturday, at home against Virginia.
Five games remain after that. A win would go a long way toward changing the narrative around the football operation.
It also would be helpful to avoid more headlines that tend to put the program in a less-than-ideal light. For now, it has.
The Browns may get back a couple of their key offensive contributors this week.
Tight end David Njoku and right tackle Jack Conklin are both set to practice on Wednesday after missing Sunday’s win over the Dolphins.
Njoku has been dealing with a knee injury.
“I’m hopeful, but he’s day to day,” head coach Kevin Stefanski said, via Tony Grossi of ESPNCleveland.com.
As for Conklin, Stefanski noted he’s trending in the right way after clearing concussion protocol. Conklin was a limited participant in last Friday’s practice after being sidelined for Wednesday and Thursday.
Additionally, the Browns announced defensive tackle/fullback Adin Huntington will not practice on Wednesday while in concussion protocol.
