Longtime Detroit Lions offensive lineman Lomas Brown has finally reached the next step in his bid for a spot in the Pro Football Hall of Fame as he was named a semifinalist on Tuesday.
A list of 52 modern-era players was cut down to 26 by a 50-person selection committee with Brown in his 18th year of eligibility being the lone former Lion to make the next phase — wide receiver Anquan Boldin and defensive tackle Haloti Ngata didn’t advance.
Brown was one of just two players not in their first year of eligibility to reach the semifinalist stage for the first time, alongside five-time All-Pro defensive tackle Kevin Williams (5th year).
The Lions have been making a push for Brown’s enshrinement in Canton, Ohio with the launching of a website titled “The Case for Lomas Brown,” highlighting his career achievements, quotes from NFL legends across multiple generations and how he compares to other Hall of Famers.
“It’s humbling. It really is, man, because those are guys that have the Gold jackets, those are guys that played the game at the highest level and, you know, guys that I played against them,” Brown told MLive’s Dungeon of Doom podcast last month. “For them to say some of the things that they’re saying, man, this is just humbling.”
Brown, who played for the Lions from 1985-1995, remains a stable of the franchise as a color commentator on the team’s radio broadcast.
In total, Brown played 18 seasons in the NFL, making seven Pro Bowls, and five selections to an All-Pro team. He ended his career in 2002, winning a Super Bowl with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in his final season.
He became most-known as one of the most durable players in the league, with his 263 games played and 251 starts the most in NFL history at offensive tackle. Brown only trails Hall-of-Famer Bruce Matthews in games played and number of starts among all offensive linemen.
The sixth overall pick in the 1985 NFL Draft, the Florida standout is already a member of the College Football Hall of Fame.
Brown is one of six offensive linemen selected as semifinalists, alongside Willie Anderson, Jahri Evans, Richmond Webb, Steve Wisniewski and Marshal Yanda.
Among notable players named semifinalists in their first year of eligibility are Drew Brees, Larry Fitzgerald, Frank Gore, Philip Rivers and Jason Witten, who all played their last football game in the 2020 season.
The next step will be to narrow down the list again to 15 finalists in December, who will be presented alongside three senior players, one coach and one contributor for potential admission into the Hall of Fame.
The Hall of Fame’s selection process bylaws stipulate that between four and eight new members shall be selected.