Former Patriots and Raiders defensive end, Richard Seymour has been elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame as a member of the 2022 Modern Era class. Seymour becomes the second Patriot player inducted from the first three Super Bowl wins, joining fellow defensive stalwart, Ty Law.
Drafted with the sixth overall pick in the 2001 draft, Seymour spent the first eight seasons of his career with the Patriots, appearing in four Super Bowls and winning three. In addition, he went to five straight Pro Bowls from 2002-06 and was named First-Team All-Pro three times with the Patriots. He added two more Pro Bowl appearances with the Raiders and was named to the 2000s All-Decade team in 2020.
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Despite not having the eye-popping stats that some of his contemporaries piled up, the voters looked past the boxscore and saw Seymour’s value which, if you ask Patriots head coach Bill Belichick, takes a back seat to very few.
“Richard was a tremendous player,” said Belichick in 2021. “He had a tremendous skill set. He had great length. Explosive. Very quick for his size. He could do everything.”
Belichick isn’t joking when he said Seymour could do everything. Over his career with the Patriots, Seymour has racked up seven blocked kicks on special teams. A Patriots franchise record.
That tremendous skill set earned him a red jacket and a spot in the Patriots Hall of Fame last Summer. This year, he will add a gold jacket to his collection and be recognized, not only as a Patriots HOFer, but a Pro Football Hall of Famer.
In total, Seymour played 164 games for both the Patriots and Raiders, racking up 57.5 sacks, 498 total tackles, and one defensive touchdown to go with his championship hardware. Of which, he has plenty.
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