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The All-World returner appears poised to be left out of the Hall of Fame for the second year in a row, infuriating Bears and NFL fans alike.
Chicago Bears legend Devin Hester has been dubbed a multitude of monikers over his playing career. Despite all of the cool nicknames you could label a player of his caliber, I think the most fitting one was simply "ridiculous". He was Mr. Ridiculous — like a Madden cheat code personified. And now something equally as ridiculous is stewing as reports out of Arizona indicate Hester will not make the cut for the Pro Football Hall of Fame 2023 class.
I'm just going to say it: Devin Hester is the greatest returner of all time. Forget my Bears bias (and it runs deep), I don't think you could pinpoint a player in the NFL as electric as Hester when it came to returning either a punt or a kickoff.
Despite how good he was, we'll also be left wondering just how great he could have been if the NFL hadn't adjusted the kickoff rules only five years into his career. One of the amendments that helped promote touchbacks was dubbed "The Hester Rule." I think it should go without saying that any time a league adjusts its universal rules because of one player, it's a pretty good indication that said player is pretty darn special.
In Case You Forgot, Pro Football Hall of Fame...
Still, let me give you a rundown of his accolades and you tell me exactly why he shouldn't be in the Hall of Fame:
Punt Returns:
- 315 returns
- 3695 yards
- 14 (!) TDs (most in NFL history)
Kick Returns:
- 295 returns
- 7,333 yards
- 5 TDs (1 in the postseason)
That one in the postseason? Fairly memorable:
Individual Awards:
- 4 Pro Bowls
- 3 First Team All Pro
- Hall of Fame All-2000s Team
- Hall of Fame's All-2010s Team
If you want to make an argument that there were better kick returners, fine, I'll listen. I'd say you're wrong ,but I'd at least entertain the conversation. Josh Cribbs was solid. Cordarrelle Patterson is up there. But can you really tell me with a straight face that you'd want either of those guys waiting to return a kick instead of the Windy City Flyer?
And as far as punt returners go — it's not even a question. Hester is the greatest punt returner of all time by a wide margin. The man had an uncanny ability to start, cut, and accelerate all without missing a beat. Much like Gale Sayers, watching Devin Hester was poetry in motion. He was so good, that just the thought of him catching a punt was enough to trick an entire team:
Special teams is too often overlooked by the Hall of Fame committee for one reason or another. Ray Guy, considered the greatest punter of all time, wasn't elected until 2014 (he retired in 1986) and still remains the only punter in Canton.
Similarly, there are only four kickers in the Hall (and of those four, only two were full-time kickers). Special teams remains an underrepresented and underappreciated aspect of the game we all love, and Hester's expected second snubbing only further exacerbates the disconnect between what the fans want and how the voters vote.
Devin Hester will forever hold a special place in Chicago Bears fans' hearts. Like most of those players on the Lovie Smith teams, he was quiet and walked with a big stick. Teams truly feared his impact on the game and went out of their way to avoid kicking it to him. What are the standards for the Hall of Fame if one single player, who can strike fear in literally every coach in the league, is left on the outside looking in for football's greatest honor?
Well, it says the standards are ridiculous.
More must-reads:
- Travis Kelce inks record-setting contract extension with Chiefs
- Snap judgments: Which NFC rookies will earn the most playing time?
- The 'Most career passing touchdowns' quiz
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