Roger Craig among senior candidates for Pro Football Hall of Fame
Versatile running back Roger Craig, former MVP Ken Anderson and key member of the Steel Curtain defense L.C. Greenwood are among the players who advanced to the next stage in the Seniors category for the 2025 Pro Football Hall of Fame class.
The Hall released a list of 60 players Thursday who remained from the original list of 183 nominees made last month by a newly created Seniors Screening Committee.
A nine-person Senior Blue Ribbon Committee will now begin the process of reducing that list to the three finalists to be considered by the full selection committee in early 2025. The three seniors will be grouped with one coach and contributor with at least one and no more than three of those finalists getting in based on voting.
Craig and Anderson are among the 10 players on this year's list of nominees who made it to the seminal stage of 12 candidates last year when Steve McMichael and Randy Gradishar were voted in as seniors.
The other returning semifinalists are Maxie Baughan, Joe Jacoby, Albert Lewis, Eddie Meador, Art Powell, Sterling Sharpe, Otis Taylor and Al Wistert. Powell made it to the final cut but didn't get the 80% threshold needed for induction.
Players eligible for the Seniors category must have finished their playing career by the end of the 1999 season.
Craig was a key part of San Francisco's dynasty in the 1980s with his ability as a physical runner and as a receiver out of the backfield. Craig was the first player ever to have 1,000 yards rushing and 1,000 yards receiving in the same season in 1985, and led the NFL with 2,036 yards from scrimmage in 1988 when he helped the 49ers win the Super Bowl.
Craig was also part of the title-winning teams in San Francisco in the 1984 and 1989 seasons. His 410 yards from scrimmage in those Super Bowl wins are the third-most ever behind only Hall of Famers Jerry Rice and Franco Harris.
Anderson was a four-time Pro Bowler for Cincinnati and won the MVP in 1981 when he helped the Bengals reach their first Super Bowl before losing to San Francisco. When Anderson retired after the 1986 season he ranked sixth all time with 32,838 yards passing and 13th with 197 TD passes.
Greenwood is the most prominent member of the dominant Steelers defense that helped the franchise win four Super Bowl titles in a span of six seasons from 1974 to '79 who is not in the Hall. Joe Greene, Jack Lambert, Jack Ham, Donnie Shell and Mel Blount have already been inducted.
Greenwood was a member of the all-decade team for the 1970s, was a two-time All-Pro and made six Pro Bowls in a 13-year career. He retired a year before sacks became an official stat but research from Pro Football Reference credits him with 78 over his career as a defensive end on those teams.
Powell was one of the most prolific receivers in the pass-happy AFL. His 81 touchdowns rank second best in AFL history behind Don Maynard, and his 8,015 yards receiving were third behind only Maynard and Hall of Famer Lance Alworth.
