Thursday night at the NFL Honors ceremony, not only will we learn who took home the league’s awards for this year, but we’ll also learn this year’s class for the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Some of the names have already started to trickle out, including a trio of former Chicago Bears.
The Chicago Sun-Times reported Wednesday night that defensive tackle Steve McMichael, kick and punt returner Devin Hester, and defensive end Julius Peppers would all be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame this summer.
McMichael is one of three senior finalists for the class of 2024. Since 2010, every senior finalist has been inducted that year, so it felt like a foregone conclusion for McMichael, who has been battling Lou Gehrig’s Disease since April 2021. In addition to winning Super Bowl XX with the Bears, McMichael was a five-time All-Pro in his NFL career, nabbing two first-team selections and three second-team selections.
Hester was drafted by the Bears in 2006 and made an immediate impact for the team, returning three punts, two kickoffs, and a missed field goal for a touchdown in his rookie season. Hester also returned the opening kickoff of Super Bowl XLI for a touchdown, becoming the first player in NFL history to do such in a Super Bowl. Despite his effort, the Bears lost 29-17 to the Indianapolis Colts. Hester would go on to return an NFL-record 14 punts for touchdowns in his NFL career which included stints with the Atlanta Falcons, Baltimore Ravens, and Seattle Seahawks after his time in Chicago came to an end.
While Peppers is most remembered for his early career dominance with the Carolina Panthers, he made a huge difference for the Bears when he signed with the team in 2010, recording eight sacks and being named a First Team All-Pro. Peppers recorded 37.5 of his 159.5 career sacks with the Bears and was named to the Pro Bowl or All-Pro teams in three of his four seasons in Chicago. He went on to play for the Green Bay Packers before retiring after the 2018 season.
