Former Patriots defensive lineman Richard Seymour selected to Pro Football Hall of Fame

The 2022 Pro Football Hall of Fame class has been announced and a former member of the New England Patriots has finally made the cut: in his fourth year as a finalist, Richard Seymour finally got over the hump and will officially be enshrined in August.

Seymour joined the Patriots as the 6th overall draft pick in 2001 and quickly grew into one of the NFL’s best and most dominant defensive lineman. As such, he became a cornerstone of New England’s early dynasty teams and helped the Patriots win their first three Super Bowls. Overall, the Georgia product spent eight seasons with the organization and appeared in 126 games for the club. He would go on to play four seasons with the Oakland Raiders following his tenure in New England and retire from the game following the 2012 season.

The 42-year old, who was voted into the Patriots’ franchise Hall of Fame earlier this year, was a dominant player throughout his tenure in New England, but lacked necessary counting stats to crack the Hall on his first three tries. Despite the lack of counting numbers, Seymour was always a well respected player throughout the league, making seven Pro Bowls and three All-Pro teams.

Richard Seymour’s most impressive feat of all perhaps, was his ability to garner trust in New England so quickly. In his first season as a pro, Seymour started 10 games as a rookie, including the Super Bowl. In year two, he started all 16 games he played, and in year three he was named a team captain.

Richard Seymour becomes the tenth player associated with the Patriots organization in one way or another to make the Pro Football Hall of Fame:

LB Nick Buoniconti (2001)

OG John Hannah (1991)

CB Mike Haynes (1997)

RB Curtis Martin (2012)

WR Randy Moss (2018)

LB Junior Seau (2013)

LB Andre Tippett (2008)

Bill Parcells (2013)

CB Ty Law (2019)

The full 2022 Hall of Fame class looks as follows:

DL Richard Seymour

OL Tony Boselli

WR Cliff Branch

DB LeRoy Butler

LB Sam Mills

DL Bryant Young

Coach Dick Vermeil

Referee Art McNally