TAMPA, Fla. — Next year for Shannon Sharpe? Probably.
“Here’s the thing,” Sharpe said last week. “They’ve got two slam dunks next year coming up: Jerry Rice and Emmitt Smith. So now you’re down to three again.”
There are five spots on the modern-era ballot each year for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Sharpe knew before the vote Saturday that defensive end Bruce Smith and safety Rod Woodson were cinches, leaving 13 finalists to compete for the other three slots.
Smith and Woodson were elected as expected. Filling the other three modern-era spots were offensive guard Randall McDaniel, owner Ralph Wilson Jr. and linebacker Derrick Thomas.
Next year, Rice and Smith, the NFL’s all-time leading receiver and rusher, respectively, hit the ballot. Sharpe and receiver Cris Carter, however, figure to be odds-on favorites for two more spots, leaving the fifth and final spot to come down between guard Russ Grimm, defensive end Richard Dent, defensive tackle John Randle and possibly former Broncos running back Terrell Davis.
Broncos to Canton.
It may sting, but Sharpe said he would be going to the Hall of Fame ceremony in Canton, Ohio, as a guest for good friend and former Baltimore Raven teammate Rod Woodson.
“I’ll definitely be there for him,” Sharpe said, “because I know if the roles were reversed, he’d be there for me.”
Gary Zimmerman, left tackle for the Minnesota Vikings and Broncos during a 12-year NFL career that was capped by his Hall of Fame induction in August, said he would be attending the ceremony as McDaniel’s guest.
Footnotes.
The league considered having the Broncos play in the Hall of Fame Game because new coach Josh McDaniels grew up in Canton, Ohio. Instead, the league will open the preseason with two original American Football League owners, Buffalo’s Ralph Wilson Jr. and Tennessee’s Bud Adams, in the 50-year anniversary of the Hall of Fame Game.
Mike Klis, The Denver Post
