A pair of Pittsburgh Steelers greats have advanced to the next round of consideration for the 2025 class of the Pro Football Hall of Fame as seniors. DE L.C. Greenwood and LB Andy Russell are among the 60 senior players who have advanced, per the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
To be eligible in the seniors category, a player must have ended his career before the 2000 season. There were initially 182 nominees, and a selection process with the Seniors Screening Committee cast ballots for 50 players. Any player who tied for 50th remains in the running, which is why there are 60 in total.
The next step is a nine-person Seniors Blue-Ribbon Committee making additional reductions over the next couple months to select three finalists for possible induction with the 2025 Pro Football Hall of Fame class.
Greenwood played 13 NFL seasons from 1969 to 1981, all with the Steelers. He was selected in the 10th round of the 1969 NFL/AFL Draft at No. 238 overall.
He logged 78 sacks (before it was an official stat) and was a four-time Super Bowl winner with the Steelers’ 1970s dynasty. He earned a Pro Bowl selection six times, made the AP first-team All Pro list twice, and received votes to be the Defensive Player of the Year in 1974, the first season the Steelers won the Super Bowl.
Many have long felt that Greenwood is deserving of a spot in the Hall of Fame for a long time, so it is great to see him advance in the Seniors category for a chance to be enshrined and join many other Steelers greats from that era.
Russell played 12 NFL seasons from 1963 to 1976 with a two-year break for military service following his rookie season. All 12 of those seasons were spent with the Steelers. He was selected in the 16th round of the 1963 NFL Draft at pick No. 220 overall.
Russell registered 18 interceptions, one defensive touchdown and 38 sacks during his career. He was chosen to the Pro Bowl seven times, including six-straight selections from 1970-75. He won two Super Bowls with the team in the 1974 and ’75 seasons.
Along with these two in the Seniors category, Hines Ward, James Harrison, Casey Hampton, James Farrior, Gary Anderson, Allen Rossum, Mike Vrabel, and John Kuhn are among the modern-era nominees who played some or all of their careers with the Steelers.
