Getty Devin Hester #23 of the Chicago Bears fields a punt against the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field on November 4, 2013 in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Bears defeated the Packers 27-20. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)
Chicago Bears great Devin Hester will have to wait at least a little longer before taking up his place in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and one NFL legend isn’t happy about it.
Hester was among 15 former player candidates up for consideration by the HOF, but he was not among the group of four who were selected for induction Thursday night, February 10 as part of the NFL Honors ceremony in Los Angeles.
Hester, the most prolific and successful kickoff/punt returner in the game’s history, spoke to Sports Illustrated (SI) about his the first year of his HOF candidacy just two days prior to the vote. Deion Sanders, the best kick returner football had ever seen before Hester came along, also put strong words behind Hester as part of the same piece.
“There’s no man that was feared more than Devin Hester with a ball in his hands on special teams,” Sanders told Mitch Goldich of SI. “And that’s coming from me.”
“It would be absurd if he’s not a first-ballot Hall of Famer,” Sanders continued.
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Hester’s Hall of Fame Case is Unique, But Also Strong
GettyDevin Hester, of the Chicago Bears, sheds a tackle against the St. Louis Rams at the Edward Jones Dome on November 24, 2013 in St. Louis, Missouri. The Rams beat the Bears 42-21. (Photo by Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images)
If Sanders is right, then it’s time for Hester and Bears fans everywhere to let the absurdity sink in, as well as the sadness, following his gold jacket snub Thursday evening. Hester acknowledged to SI that getting into the Hall on his first shot was especially important to him.
“First-ballot Hall of Famers are Hall of Famers that you don’t have no question that they should be a Hall of Famer. You think about the best of the best — best quarterbacks, best running backs, best receivers,” Hester said. “I know we don’t have any [full-time] returners in the Hall of Fame, but I did things that have never been done before.”
Hester stands alone as the best punt returner in NFL history, returning a record 14 punts for touchdowns over his 11-year NFL career. Second place on the list belongs to Eric Metcalf who returned 10 punts to the end zone.
A four-time Pro Bowl selection and three-time All-Pro, Hester also returned five kickoffs for touchdowns during his professional tenure. That total ties him with several others for ninth on the NFL’s all-time list.
Combining the two totals vaults Hester’s special teams touchdown tally to 19, which is more than twice as many as Sanders produced over the course of his career. Furthermore, Hester’s is an NFL record that may never be broken considering rule changes to NFL kickoffs in recent years that de-incentivize return attempts in the name of player safety.
“Imagine if teams kicked to me my whole life, how crazy the stats would be,” Hester said. “I really only got two or three good years of getting the ball kicked to me.”
Hester was named to the NFL 100 team as a return man before Super Bowl LIV, which was held in Miami back in 2019. He also spent seven years of his career as a legitimate wide receiver, amassing 3,311 receiving yards on 255 receptions that included 16 TDs.
NFL 2022 Hall of Fame Class Excluded Several Greats
GettyFormer Vikings defensive end Jared Allen was left out of NFL Hall of Fame in 2022.
Hester was one of several NFL greats who did not get the nod into the HOF this year.
Bleacher Report Gridiron posted a graphic to Instagram Thursday night listing all the players who were inducted into the Hall of Fame, as well as all of those who were left out.
Among those who did not make the cut were defensive end Jared Allen, wide receivers Andre Johnson, Torry Holt and Reggie Wayne, and linebackers DeMarcus Ware and Patrick Willis.
Those who were included in the 2022 Hall of Fame class were defensive linemen Richard Seymour and Bryant Young, offensive tackle Tony Boselli, and safety Leroy Butler. Dick Vermeil was also inducted as a coach, while Art McNally entered the HOF as a referee.