Terrell Owens and Randy Moss, who took turns as Bay Area lightning rods, are going into the Pro Football Hall of Fame together as two of the NFL’s most productive and controversial wide receivers ever.
Owens and Moss were voted in Saturday along with linebackers Ray Lewis and Brian Urlacher as well as a nine-time Pro Bowl safety, that being Brian Dawkins rather than fellow finalist and current 49ers general manager John Lynch.
The enshrinement ceremony will be held Aug. 4 in Canton, Ohio.
Moss, Lewis and Urlacher were first-ballot candidates.
Owens, snubbed his first two years as a finalist, celebrated Saturday by posting a social-media photo of a black cap with gold letters “HOF” and a caption congratulating his fellow classmates, saying “We’re GOLDEN!” It was a tame celebration compared to some from Owens’ playing days that involved popcorn, pom poms, a Sharpie pen and two infamous trips to the Dallas Cowboys midfield logo.
Moss is the first wide receiver to make it through on the first ballot since Jerry Rice in 2010. Moss’ low point of his career may have come at the end of his two-year tenure with the Raiders from 2005-06. Whereas Owens played the first eight years of his career with the 49ers (1996-2003), Moss emerged from a one-year hiatus and ended his career on the franchise’s 2012 run to Super Bowl XLVII.
When Owens got snubbed last year — he failed to make the cut from 15 to 10 — he ripped the voting process a “total joke.” “Honestly, doesn’t mean anything to me to get in beyond this point,” Owens tweeted last February.
Owens left the 49ers after 2003 in a botched attempt at free agency, ultimately landing with the Philadelphia Eagles in an arbitration-brokered deal with the Baltimore Ravens. From there, Owens went on to the Dallas Cowboys, Buffalo Bills and Cincinnati Bengals.
Owens ranks second all-time with 15,934 receiving yards, trailing only Rice’s 22,895 yards. Owens and Moss each had 153 touchdown receptions — the most behind Rice’s 197 — before Moss resumed his career in 2012 and caught three more touchdowns for the Super Bowl-bound 49ers.
Owens and Moss drew the longest debate among Saturday’s panel, chewing up 45 minutes and 34 minutes, respectively, according to Hall voter Clark Judge.
Rice tweeted well wishes to them before Saturday’s vote, dubbing them as “two of the most explosive receivers to play the game.”
Two of the most explosive receivers to play the game!! Good luck Randy Moss and Terrell Owens for Pro Football Hall of Fame today.
— jerryrice (@JerryRice) February 3, 2018
Moss spent two seasons on the Raiders, producing 1,005 yards and eight touchdowns on their 4-12 team in 2005 before tallying just 553 yards and three touchdowns the next year on a 2-14 wreck. But Moss rebounded in 2007, setting a NFL record with 23 touchdown catches as the New England Patriots went undefeated through the regular season before falling in the Super Bowl.
Moss and Rice are the only players to post at least 10 seasons of over 1,000 receiving yards. In Moss’ swan song with the 49ers, he caught 28 of 50 targets for 434 yards and three touchdowns in the regular season, and he had no touchdown catches in the playoffs.
Former NFL executive Bobby Beathard, grandfather of 49ers quarterback C.J. Beathard, got elected as the contributor finalist. Bobby Beathard is best known for as general manager in Washington (1978-89) and the San Diego Chargers (1990-2000). Also approved were the two Seniors Committee finalists: former Packers guard Jerry Kramer and Houston Oilers linebacker Robert Brazile.
Unlike the past two years, Lynch did not make Saturday’s cut from 15 to 10 finalists, according to NBC Sports Bay Area’s Matt Maiocco, who served on the selection panel and presented Owens’ case. The five who made the Top 10 but not final approval were cornerback Ty Law and offensive linemen Tony Boselli, Alan Faneca, Steve Hutchinson, and Kevin Mawae, Maiocco reported.
Congrats to a great and deserving Class. Disappointed but humbled to be a finalist. Thanks to everyone for the support. https://t.co/B7gIpXwodz
— John Lynch (@JohnLynch49ers) February 3, 2018
Lynch’s 15-year career has yet to earn him a Canton bust but it has garnered much respect: nine Pro Bowls, three All-Pro First Team accolades and five trips to the Pro Football Hall of Fame finalist level. A year ago, Lynch left his Fox Sports analyst gig and became the 49ers general manager, aligning with new coach Kyle Shanahan in rebuilding a franchise that opened 0-9 but ultimately closed on a five-game win streak.
Lewis and Urlacher played their entire careers with their original teams, Lewis leading the Baltimore Ravens from 1996 to 2012 and Urlacher serving from 2000-12 as the Bears’ most revered player since their 1985 Super Bowl-winning team.
Dawkins established himself as a play-making safety with the Philadelphia Eagles from 1996-2008 before ending his career with the Denver Broncos from 2009-11.
The Hall of Fame’s 48-person selection committee started debating at 7 a.m. CT and took nearly eight hours to formulate this year’s class.
Two days prior to the enshrinement ceremonies will be the Hall of Fame Game, and it conceivably could include the 49ers, who haven’t played in that exhibition opener since 2000.
The #49ers would like to congratulate @terrellowens on being named to the @ProFootballHOF Class of 2018! https://t.co/7qlHkZA55S
Watch #NFLHonors at 9pm PT on @nbc pic.twitter.com/ciT0m95CsC
— San Francisco 49ers (@49ers) February 4, 2018
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) February 4, 2018
.@terrellowens ➡️ @ProFootballHOF
Congrats T.O.! #DallasCowboys pic.twitter.com/XATWnj7PwI
— Dallas Cowboys (@dallascowboys) February 4, 2018
