For the first time since he’s been eligible, retired New York Giants linebacker Carl Banks has been named a semifinalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Banks made the cut alongside 24 other modern-era players for the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Class of 2020, joining defensive tackle Bryant Young and running backs Fred Taylor and Ricky Watters as the four first-time semifinalists who had previously been eligible.
A first-round pick of the Giants in the 1984 NFL Draft, Banks would spend nine years in New York, winning two Super Bowls while being named to the Pro Bowl once and earning an All-Pro nod in 1987. He was also named to the NFL’s 1980’s All-Decade Team and late enshrined in the Giants’ Ring of Honor.
After his time with the Giants, Banks spent a year with the Cleveland Browns before rounding out his career with two years under Bill Belichick as a member of the Cleveland Browns.
The modern-era players list will be reduced to 15 finalists on January 2, 2020. The finalists will then be presented to the 48-member Pro Football Hall of Fame selection committee during its annual meeting on February 1, 2020 — the day before Super Bowl LIV. The selection committee will elect five modern-era players for the Class of 2020.
