Ball-hawking safety joins first-ballot teammates Jonathan Ogden, Ray Lewis.
The shouts of “REEED!” that used to fill M&T Bank Stadium on cold Sunday afternoons will certainly fill Canton, Ohio on a hot, summer Saturday night.
Ed Reed (photo, YouTube)
Ravens safety Ed Reed, seventh on the NFL’s all-time interception list and the all-time record holder in interception return yardage, was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame Saturday. It was his first year of eligibility.
Reed will be formally inducted into the Hall during the shrine’s annual enshrinement weekend in early August at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton. He’ll join Class of 2019 members, which include cornerback Champ Bailey, tight end Tony Gonzalez, center Kevin Mawae, and cornerback Ty Law. Like Reed, Bailey and Gonzalez were in their first years of eligibility.
Contributor nominees Pat Bowlen, the longtime Denver Broncos owner, and Gil Brandt, the noted Dallas Cowboys executive, were also elected, along with Senior nominee and Kansas City Chiefs safety Johnny Robinson.
In 174 career games, Reed racked up 643 tackles, intercepted 64 passes, made 34 tackles for losses, recorded six quarterback sacks, forced 11 fumbles, recovered 13 more, scored nine touchdowns. He was named to nine Pro Bowls, five All-Pro teams, and was named 2004 Defensive Player of the Year.
Reed registered nine postseason pickoffs–one more than the combined total of the six players ahead of him on the all-time regular-season interception list.
Even though the Ravens were born in 1996, it took until 2002 for the franchise to register its first blocked punt. That came from Reed, who did so on a Monday-night telecast against Denver.
Steve Bisciotti: He wasn’t sold on drafting Reed (photo, Baltimore Sun)
Ravens’ majority owner Steve Bisciotti had repeatedly told the story of how, before the 2002 draft, he thought the team needed a cornerback more than a safety. With the 24th overall pick, he wanted the team to take Lito Sheppard, who went on to a solid career in Philadelphia. But Reed, a University of Miami playmaking safety, was the choice instead.
The Ravens, fresh off a salary-cap-fueled implosion of their roster, began to rebuild–thanks in part to Reed. The youthful Ravens then went 7-9 and nearly made the playoffs before winning the franchise’s first AFC North Division crown the following year.
According to reports, the discussion in the Hall of Fame voting room regarding Reed took a mere two minutes and 20 seconds–the shortest of anyone on the ballot. Six years ago, the debate surrounding Jonathan Ogden took up nine minutes. Ogden was the first homegrown Raven to get elected (2013). Ray Lewis followed in 2017. Reed becomes the third Ravens’ player in the HOF.
Not insignificantly, Reed becomes the first pure safety to be selected on his first ballot since Ken Houston in 1986.
Like most sports halls of fame, the Pro Football version does not attach a team affiliation to any nominee. Baseball’s Cooperstown is the only one that does. But even though Reed ended his career with short stints at Houston and with the Jets, his career was defined during the 11 years he spent with the Ravens.
In the future, Ravens’ linebacker Terrell Suggs and guard Marshal Yanda are almost sure-fire bets to be inducted. But the team first majority owner, Arthur B. Modell, isn’t enshrined–although he made the final voting list twice (2002, 2013). Since 2015, Modell has been included with other owners and general managers in the ‘Contributor’ category. He could be the Class of 2020 nominee when that person is named sometime in August.
Two Contributor nominees are chosen in odd-numbered classes, such as this year’s, and one is submitted for even-numbered classes. This year’s nominees were Bowlen and Brandt who, like the rest of the induction class, gained the required “yes” votes of at least 39 of the 48 individuals (80 percent). Voters are comprised of media members, who serve on the Board of Electors. Voting totals for individual honorees are not disclosed publicly.
The Contributor and Senior categories alternate by year regarding how many nominees are sent to the voting committee. For the 2020 class, it will be one Contributor and two Seniors.
