The Pro Football Hall of Fame announced 25 Modern-Era Player Semifinalists for the Class of 2025 on Wednesday and the list includes three legendary former Patriots who have advanced in the voting, moving one step closer to enshrinement in Canton.
Rodney Harrison, Vince Wilfork, and Adam Vinatieri all made the cut, while former notable Patriots who did not advance past the 50-man cut include Logan Mankins and Ben Coates.
Harrison was a finalist in 2023 and has had plenty of advocates over the years for induction, including former Patriots head coach Bill Belichick who said Harrison would easily be on the list of all-time players that he coached.
“Best safety I’ve coached,” said Belichick in 2023, making a lengthy case for Harrison. “Fantastic player, person and great competitor. Could do it all. One of the most versatile players I’ve ever coached. He could cover. He really could play corner. He was a great blitzer. A great tackler. He was really hard to block in the running game, as a blitzer and on kickoff coverage. Very explosive. Two-hundred twenty pounds, whatever he was. He was a thumper. He was a contact player. Ran well. Very instinctive. He did a great job of disguising coverages. Worked well with his teammates, you know, with Eugene [Wilson] and some of the different safeties we had back there through his career. He’s just a heck of a football player. He’s one of the best I’ve ever coached. I mean, he’d certainly be on my all-time team without question.”
Harrison’s career with the Pats spanned 2003-2008 and he was a part of two Patriots Super Bowl championship teams in 2003 and 2004.
Vinatieri is among six first-time semifinalists 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 on his way to becoming the league’s all-time leading scorer (2,673 total points). Vinatieri’s game-tying kick through a blizzard in the 2001 AFC Divisional Round against the Oakland Raiders is still widely considered the greatest kick of all time, while his game-winning kick in overtime of that game isn’t far behind.
Wilfork played 11 seasons with the Patriots, winning Super Bowls in both his first and last years with the team. Over the course of 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 had brief stops in New England with the Pats include James Harrison (2017) and Fred Taylor (2009-210) while both Reggie Wayne (2015) and Torry Holt (2010) both spent some training camp time in Foxborough.
The next step will narrow the list to 15 finalists, with the final enshrinees revealed at the “NFL Honors” in February 2025.
