Pro Football Hall of Fame announced 25 Modern Era Player Semi-Finalists for the Class of 2025 on Wednesday and the list includes three legendary former Patriots who advanced in the voting, moving closer to being enshrined in Canton.
Rodney Harrison, Vince Wilfork and Adam Vinatieri have all been retained, while notable former Patriots who haven’t made it past the 50-player limit include Logan Mankins and Ben Coates.
Harrison was a finalist in 2023 and has had many advocates over the years for his induction, including former Patriots head coach Bill Belichick, who said Harrison would easily make the list of all-time players who ‘he trained.
“The best safety I’ve coached,” Belichick said in 2023, making his case for Harrison at length. “Fantastic player, person and great competitor. He could do it all. One of the most versatile players I’ve ever coached. He could cover. He could really play corner. He was a great blitzer. A great tackler .He was really tough blocking in the run game, as a blitzer and on kickoff coverage, whatever he was, he was a good contact player. did a great job of the disguise covers worked well with his teammates, you know, with Eugene. [Wilson] and some of the different safeties we’ve had there throughout his career. He’s just a hell of a football player. He’s one of the best I’ve ever coached. I mean, he would definitely make my all-time team without a doubt. »
Harrison’s career with the Pats spanned from 2003 to 2008 and he was part of two Patriots Super Bowl championship teams in 2003 and 2004.
Vinatieri is one of six semifinalists for the first time this season, alongside Luke Kuechly, Eli Manning, Terrell Suggs, Earl Thomas and Marshal Yanda. Vinatieri played 10 years of his 24-year career with the Patriots, delivering some of the most famous kicks in NFL history before becoming the league’s all-time leading scorer (2,673 total points ). Vinatieri’s game-tying kick through a snowstorm in the 2001 AFC Divisional Round against the Oakland Raiders is still widely considered the greatest kick of all time, while his winning kick in overtime of this match is not far behind.
Wilfork played 11 seasons with the Patriots, winning the Super Bowl in his first and final years with the team. During his tenure in New England, Wilfork was a first-team All-Pro in 2012, a four-time second-team All-Pro (2007, 2009-2011) and a five-time Pro Bowler. He was inducted into the Patriots’ team Hall of Fame in 2022.
Other semifinalists who made brief stops in New England with the Pats include James Harrison (2017) and Fred Taylor (2009-210), while Reggie Wayne (2015) and Torry Holt (2010) both spent time at training camp in Foxborough.
The next step will narrow the list down to 15 finalists, with the finalists’ names revealed during NFL Honors in February 2025.
