The Terrell Suggs and Marshal Yanda Hall of Fame Cases
But City will be strengthened byThree of the Ravens’ own players are already inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. They might add two more in 2025.
Terrell Suggs, an outside linebacker, and Marshal Yanda, a guard, will be eligible for the first time and could become the first-ballot Hall of Famers alongside Ed Reed, Ray Lewis, and Jonathan Ogden.
Following his incredible performances with the Ivory Coast in winning the Africa Cup of Nations, Jean Michael Seri returned to the club’s Cottingham training ground on Monday. Here are the cases for Suggs and Yanda.
With 139 sacks in 17 seasons, Suggs is ranked eighth all-time. The seven players directly in front of him and the seven players not too far behind him are all Hall of Famers.
He has the hardware, Suggs. With the Ravens in 2012 and the Kansas City Chiefs as a late-season addition in 2019, he won two Super Bowls. In 2011, he recorded a career-high 14 sacks and seven forced fumbles, earning him the title of NFL Defensive Player of the Year. With 12 sacks in his first season, he was the NFL’s Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2003.
Jason Taylor, the defensive end for the Miami Dolphins, entered the Hall of Fame on his first attempt. During his 15-year career, he went to one fewer Pro Bowl, never won a Super Bowl, and finished with a half-sack more than Suggs. Most pass rushers, though, have had to wait a little while.
After finishing as a finalist in his first attempt, Dwight Freeney will be inducted this year. In 16 seasons, Freeney racked up 125.5 sacks, seven Pro Bowl appearances, and one Super Bowl victory.
defensive end Despite being a finalist for the Hall of Fame four years in a row, Jared Allen is still not in. In addition to being a five-time Pro Bowler, four-time first-team All-Pro, and two-time NFL sack leader, Allen finished with 136 sacks—just three fewer than Suggs.
Why it is likely to occur:
Yanda made the Pro Bowl eight times in the following nine seasons (every year he was healthy) after settling in as a right guard in his fifth season. Yanda was a five-time second-team player and a two-time first-team All-Pro (2014, 2015). He was selected for the NFL All-Decade Team in 2010.
Yanda played exclusively for the Ravens in Baltimore, where he assisted in leading the team to a Super Bowl victory in 2012. If he had decided to continue playing, he probably would have had more successful seasons. After all, in his final season of 2019, Yanda was still a Pro Bowl player and among the best guards in the league.
Steve Hutchinson attended one fewer Pro Bowl and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2020. Ranked 11th and 15th, respectively, on Gil Brandt’s list of the greatest guards in NFL history were Yanda and Hutchinson.
When he plans to enter:
Guards usually have to wait. Hutchinson was a member of the class of 2000. In his third year of eligibility, he entered. In 2001, Mike Munchak also had to wait through three rounds in order to be inducted. Having been a finalist for three straight years, veteran Kansas City Chief Will Shields, who was selected for twelve Pro Bowls, made it in on his fourth attempt. On Brandt’s list, Yanda was one place ahead of Shields.
Another factor that might delay Yanda’s admission is that Jahri Evans, a veteran guard for the New Orleans Saints who was one of the 15 finalists for the 2024 class, might be the next guard to be admitted. Yanda’s résumé and Evans’s are comparable: one Super Bowl, four first-team All-Pro selections, six Pro Bowls, and the 2010 All-Decade Team.
