Once again, former Pittsburgh Steelers LB James Harrison and WR Hines Ward are semifinalists for the 2025 Pro Football Hall of Fame induction class, the Hall of Fame announced today. The Hall of Fame trimmed its list down to 25 modern-era semifinalists, and Ward made it for the ninth time while Harrison did for the third time. Ward has been a semifinalist every year since 2017 while Harrison has been every year since 2023.
Ward was the Super Bowl XL MVP and won two Super Bowls with the Steelers while catching 1,000 passes for 12,083 yards and 85 touchdowns in his career. Ward played in an era with dominant wide receivers, which has hurt his candidacy up to this point. Of the 25 players who are semifinalists, five of them are wide receivers with Ward, Torry Holt, Reggie Wayne, Anquan Boldin and Steve Smith Sr. all making the cut. Ward was a four-time Pro Bowler and was a second-team All-Pro twice.
Harrison has one of the greatest plays in NFL history, a 100-yard interception return for a touchdown at the end of the first half in Super Bowl XLIII, and he also had 84 sacks in his career. He made four All-Pro teams, including being a first-team All-Pro twice, while also winning Defensive Player of The Year in 2008.
An undrafted free agent out of Kent State, Harrison wasn’t an instant-impact player, spending some time in NFL Europe before bursting onto the scene with Pittsburgh. He had 8.5 sacks in 2007 and never looked back from there, becoming a key piece of Pittsburgh’s defense throughout the 2000s and into the 2010s.
Harrison and Ward made the cut down to 25 from an initial list of 167. Both were also semifinalists for the Class of 2024 although neither moved onto the finalist stage. For Ward, it seems as if time is just running out for him to be inducted, given the number of other talented receivers and the fact that this is now his ninth season as a semifinalist.
While his numbers might not be as gaudy as some other guys, there’s no doubt that he was the best blocking wide receiver of his era and an important piece to some really talented Steelers teams. It’s good to see that he and Harrison are still getting consideration, but it would ultimately wind up being a surprise if either is inducted in the Class of 2025.
