The Pro Football Hall of Fame announced the 15 finalists for the modern-era ballot and two former Seattle Seahawks, running back Edgerrin James and guard Steve Hutchinson, remain eligible for enshrinement.
The list originally featured 122 names, including six other Seahawks: quarterback Dave Krieg; running backs Shaun Alexander, Ricky Watters and Chris Warren; center Ray Donovan; and punter Jeff Feagles.
Watters was among the 25 semifinalists, but was cut when the list was whittled down to 15, leaving just Hutchinson and James among former Seahawks.
Hutchinson seems like the likeliest of the pair to gain Hall of Fame status this winter, having finished as a finalist in each of the past two years. The guard was a seven-time Pro Bowler and five-time All-Pro in his 12-year career.
James only appeared in seven games for the Seahawks in the 2009 season, rushing 46 times for just 125 yards. He is 13th all-time in rushing yards, however, and has a decent chance of hearing his name called this year.
The final ballot will include five inductees, and will be announced the Saturday before the Super Bowl.
As part of the Hall’s special 20-member class of 2020, they will be joined by 10 ‘senior’ players (who have been retired for more than 25 seasons), three ‘contributors’ (neither a player nor coach) and two coaches.
Two former Seattle coaches, Mike Holmgren and Tom Flores, are among the coaches who could be enshrined as well, giving the Seahawks four potential inductees this year.
