Three former bears advance in 2023 Hall of Fame voting process

Olin Kreutz Among Ex-Bears to Advance in Pro Football Hall of Fame Voting Process

A trio of notable former Chicago Bears are among the players moving on to the next round of voting as the Pro Football Hall of Fame trims its list as it zeroes in on the Class of 2025.

Center Olin Kreutz, guard Ruben Brown, and defensive end Jared Allen are part of the group of 50 modern-era players advancing to the next round of the voting process. Congrats to those players as their quest for enshrinement in Canton continues.

 

This group of 50 is headlined by first-time eligible players such as Eli Manning, Marshawn Lynch, Terrell Suggs, Earl Thomas, Joe Staley, and Adam Vinatieri. It is a solid group, to be sure. Good luck to voters who are responsible for cutting more names from the list. These Hall of Fame classes are totally stacked.

Chicago Bears players among the 50 modern-era Hall of Fame candidates

The Bears could add to their list of Hall of Fame players if one of these three candidates makes it to the next round:

Center Olin Kreutz was everything you’d want a player who played that position to be — and someone Bears fans wish they could plug into their favorite team’s offensive line right now. Kreutz made six Pro Bowls and was a member of the All-2000s Team. A first-team All-Pro center in 2006, Kreutz was an anchor on the last great Bears offensive line. They don’t make ’em like him anymore.

Offensive lineman Ruben Brown, who played alongside Olin Kreutz from 2004-06, made eight of his nine Pro Bowl appearances as a member of the Buffalo Bills. However, Bears fans probably have fond memories of Brown’s final Pro Bowl nomination as it came in 2006 as a member of the team that represented the NFC in Super Bowl XLI.

Defensive end Jared Allen played just 18 games over two years with the Bears in 2014-15. Allen’s time in Chicago was short-lived and not all that memorable. He had just 5.5 sacks during his stint with the Bears, which wasn’t representative of how much of a game-wrecker he was during stints with the Kansas City Chiefs (2004-07) or Minnesota Vikings (2007-113). Allen finished his career with five Pro Bowls, four first-team All-Pro nods, and 136 sacks in 187 games.

Best of luck to these former Bears. And to Virginia Halas McCaskey, who is among the 25 Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2025 nominees who could make it under the “Contributors” umbrella.

 

The 50 remaining Hall of Fame-eligible candidates were whittled down from the 167 candidates who were on the list in September. The September release included cornerback Charles “Peanut” Tillman, linebacker Lance Briggs, running back Thomas Jones, wide receiver Brandon Marshall, special teams ace Brendon Ayanbadejo, and quarterback Doug Flutie. None of the players in the previous sentence made it to this round. That is a bummer, particularly for someone as deserving as “Peanut” Tillman. But perhaps we should take this as a sign to start beating the drum louder for the long-time standout Bears corner moving forward.