It's Wait Till Next Year Again for Webb

If former Miami Dolphins great Richmond Webb is to get elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, it won't come for at least another year.

The 15 modern-era finalists for the Class of 2026 were announced Tuesday morning, and Webb was not among the group.

Webb had been one of 26 modern-era player semifinalists, but this was a really strong group that included 11 finalists for the Class of 2025, plus strong first-time-eligible candidates Drew Brees, Larry Fitzgerald, one-time Dolphins running back Frank Gore and Jason Witten.

Gore played one of his 16 NFL seasons with the Dolphins, rushing for 722 yards in 14 games in 2019, which he followed with one-year stints with the Buffalo Bills and New York Jets. Gore's 4.6-yard rushing average with the Dolphins was his best since the 2012 season when he was a member of the San Francisco 49ers.

THE WEBB WATCH

Because Webb has yet to become a finalist, it really wasn't very realistic to expect him to get inducted into the Class of 2026, and again the key player involved when it comes to Webb is fellow tackle Willie Anderson, who again is among the finalists.

The reason is obvious: Anderson and Webb have comparable credentials, and one could argue that Webb's actually might be better. Anderson played 195 games in 13 seasons and was a four-time All-Pro and four-time Pro Bowl selection. Webb played also 13 seasons, with 184 games, also four All-Pro nods but seven Pro Bowl selections.

According to Pro Football Reference's "Hall of Fame Monitor," Webb actually is a more deserving Hall of Fame candidate with a score of 74.43, compared to 62.03 for Anderson. But it's the Hall of Fame selection committee that determined who gets in, and Anderson is ahead on the scorebook with his one finalist nod.

So it could be that the path for Webb will be somewhat cleared, at least among offensive tackles, once Anderson has been elected to the Hall of Fame. The only other tackle among the 2026 semifinalists is longtime Detroit Lions standout Lomas Brown, whose PFR Hall Monitor score is 63.85.

Ironically, Anderson and Webb were teammates with the Cincinnati Bengals in Webb's final two NFL seasons, 2001-02.

The list of Modern-Era Player Semifinalists initially began as a group of 128 nominees announced in September.

A screening committee that includes several enshrinees in the Pro Football Hall of Fame trimmed that number to 52 (50 plus ties) in October.

In all, 20 finalists will be presented at the Selection Committee’s annual meeting next year in advance of Super Bowl LX: the 15 modern-era players plus three Seniors, one Coach and one Contributor.

While there is no set number for any class of enshrinees, the Hall of Fame’s selection process bylaws currently stipulate that between four and eight new members shall be selected.

THE FULL LIST OF 2026 MODERN-ERA FINALISTS

QUARTERBACKS (2): Drew Brees, *-Eli Manning

RUNNING BACKS (1): Frank Gore

WIDE RECEIVERS (3): Larry Fitzgerald, *-Torry Holt, *-Reggie Wayne

TIGHT ENDS (1): Jason Witten

OFFENSIVE LINEMEN (3): *-Willie Anderson (T) *-Jahri Evans (G), *-Marshal Yanda (G)

DEFENSIVE LINEMEN (1): Kevin Williams (DT)

LINEBACKERS (2): *-Luke Kuechly, Terrell Suggs

 DEFENSIVE BACKS (1): *-Darren Woodson (S)

PUNTERS/KICKERS (1): *-Adam Vinatieri (K)
*-Previous finalist; underline indicates first-time eligible

DOLPHINS HALL OF FAMERS

The Dolphins have 11 Hall of Famers, players whose biggest contributions came while with the team or who made a big impact with Miami.

The list consists of Coach Don Shula, quarterbacks Bob Griese and Dan Marino, running back Larry Csonka, wide receiver Paul Warfield, offensive linemen Jim Langer, Larry Little, and Dwight Stephenson, defensive end Jason Taylor, and linebackers Nick Buoniconti and Zach Thomas.

Other Hall of Famers who spent time with Miami but made their name with another organization include executives George Young and Bobby Beathard, head coach Jimmy Johnson, running back Thurman Thomas, wide receiver Cris Carter, and linebacker Junior Seau.