During Thursday’s ceremony of the NFL Honors, the 2022 Pro Football Hall of Fame Class was revealed.
BREAKING: Eight enshrinees are headed to Canton this August as a part of the Hall of Fame Class of 2022
More on the newest members ?? https://t.co/1VHxa5OwYG#PFHOF22 pic.twitter.com/FMNTPHSnZ7
— Pro Football Hall of Fame (@ProFootballHOF) February 11, 2022
The inductees go as follows:
Tony Boselli: A star tackle out of USC, he was the second overall pick in the 1995 draft and the first one in the Jacksonville Jaguars history. He led the Jags to four straight playoff appearances and two AFC title games from 1996 to 1999. Boselli was voted to five Pro Bowls and was named first-team All-Pro three times in his seven-year career. He gets the nod in his 16th year of eligibility and sixth as a finalist.
LeRoy Butler: A four-time Pro Bowler and first-team All-Pro with the Green Bay Packers, Butler was a ball-hawking, hard-hitting safety. He won the Super Bowl XXI in the Brett Favre-era Packers. He’s the only player in league history with at least three picks and three sacks in three straight seasons, and one of just six with 30-plus interceptions and 20-plus sacks in his career.
Sam Mills: A pillar in New Orleans’ Dome Patrol defense for nearly a decade. In his time there, the Saints defense ranked in the top five in points per game allowed, yards per game, rushing yards per game allowed, and rushing touchdowns allowed. In 1995, he was a founding leader of the Carolina Panthers, playing three seasons with the expansion franchise before retiring after the 1997 season. A five-time Pro Bowler and one-time first-team All-Pro, he gets the call in his 20th year of eligibility.
Richard Seymour: Selected sixth overall in the 2001 draft, Seymour won three championships with the New England Patriots. The Patriots were a top-eight scoring defense in six of the defensive lineman’s eight seasons with the team. The seven-time Pro Bowler and three-time All-Pro recorded 57.5 career sacks and received the call in his fifth year of eligibility.
Bryant Young: One of the greatest defensive players in the storied history of the 49ers, Young played the entirety of his 14-year career in San Francisco. He was a Super Bowl champion in his first season, a Comeback Player of the Year Award winner in 1999, a four-time Pro Bowler, and a one-time first-team All-Pro. Young enters Canton in his 10th year of eligibility.
Cliff Branch: Branch, who died in 2019, spent the length of his 14-year career with the John Madden’s Raiders. He broke out in 1974, leading the league in receiving yards (1,092) and touchdowns (13). One of the fastest players in football, he was a critical part of the Raiders’ Super Bowl-winning teams in 1976, 1980, and 1983. A four-time Pro Bowler and three-time first-team All-Pro is this year’s Senior Committee selection for the 2022 Class.
Art McNally: He served as the NFL’s supervisor of officials for 24 years from 1968 to 1991, leading the officiating department. McNally, a Contributor Committee finalist, was a field judge and referee for nine years before his promotion. He installed the first formal program for training and evaluation of football officials in professional sports and introduced instant replay system in the NFL in 1986. He is the first on-field official ever enshrined in Canton.
Dick Vermeil: He is one of only seven coaches to lead two franchises, the Philadelphia Eagles and St. Louis Rams, to the Super Bowl. In seven years at the helm, Vermeil led the Eagles to four consecutive playoff appearances and the franchise’s first Super Bowl trip. Vermeil retired from coaching in 1983 and spent the next 15 years in sports broadcasting but, in 1997, Vermeil returned to head coaching to lead the St. Louis Rams. Vermeil’s Rams shocked the football world by winning the Super Bowl in 1999. He finished his coaching career with the Chiefs.
