TAMPA, Fla.: The Latest on the 2021 Pro Football Hall of Fame class announced Saturday during the NFL Honors TV show (All times EST):
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10:08 p.m.
Alan Faneca, the sturdy guard who spent years opening holes open for Jerome Bettis and protecting Ben Roethlisberger, is going into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
In 10 seasons with Pittsburgh, two with the Jets and one more in Arizona, Faneca missed a grand total of one game.
He was selected to six All-Pro teams and nine Pro Bowls.
His best days came with the Steelers, who had a top-10 rushing attack in all but one of his seasons there, and won the Super Bowl in 2006.
Faneca was the third modern-day player to be announced for the class of 2021 on the NFL Honors awards program. He joins Charles Woodson and Calvin Johnson, along with Drew Pearson, the Cowboys great who made it in as a senior candidate.
The rest of the announcements come later tonight, with Peyton Manning expected to make it on his first ballot.
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9:33 p.m.
Calvin Johnson, the receiver better known as Megatron, has been named to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility.
In nine seasons with the Detroit Lions, Johnson made six Pro Bowls. He caught 731 passes and scored 84 touchdowns. He was an All-Pro three times and his 1,964 yards receiving in 2012, for an average of 123 yards a game, still stands as the NFL single-season record.
Much like another Lions Hall of Famer, Barry Sanders, Johnson retired unexpectedly in the prime of his career at age 30 leaving fans wondering if he had left too soon.
The Hall of Fame committee didnt think so, and ultimately, Johnsons status as a pre-eminent playmaker he had five games with 200-plus yards receiving got him into the hall on the first try.
Hell join Charles Woodson in the hall, along with a handful of other players who will be announced later in Saturday nights NFL Honors awards show.
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9:20 p.m.
Charles Woodson, the Heisman Trophy winner who spent 18 seasons prowling defensive backfields for the Oakland Raiders and Green Bay Packers, is going into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
He was the first player announced on the NFL Honors awards show, which will reveal all the inductees during its two-hour program Saturday night.
The rest of the class of 2021 is to be announced later, with Peyton Manning expected to be a shoo-in on this, his first year of eligibility.
Woodson finished his career with 65 interceptions and led the league in that category twice. His 13 defensive touchdowns are tied for the career record.
He played his first eight and last three years in Oakland, sandwiched around seven years in Green Bay, where he won his only Super Bowl title.
He and Marcus Allen are the only players to win a Heisman, the AP Rookie of the Year, AP Player of the Year and a Super Bowl.
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