Carolina Panthers great Julius Peppers continues his fast track to Canton.
As announced on Wednesday night, Peppers has been named one of 15 finalists for the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s 2024 class. The legendary pass rusher, who retired after the 2018 season, is in his first year of eligibility for the game’s highest honor.
Peppers played 10 of his 17 pro seasons in Carolina, a two-stint tenure that sandwiched stops for the Chicago Bears (2010-2013) and the Green Bay Packers (2014-2016). Those 17 years yielded an NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year award, four First-team All-Pro selections, three Second-team All-Pro selections, nine Pro Bowl nods and spots on the NFL 2000s All-Decade Team and the NFL 2010s All-Decade Team.
Along with former teammate Muhsin Muhammad, Peppers was inducted into the Panthers Hall of Honor back on Oct. 29. We’ll find out if the fourth-leading sack artist of all-time is headed for induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame at the NFL Honors show during Super Bowl week.
Unfortunately for another old teammate and fellow franchise great, Wednesday night marked the end of another shot at immortalization.
For the third straight year, former wide receiver Steve Smith Sr. did not make the cut into the group of finalists. Smith Sr., a three-time All-Pro and five-time Pro Bowler, ranks eighth all-time in receiving yards.
