NFL.com: Kurt Warner, Aeneas Williams will soon be in Hall of Fame
Aug 6, 2013, 8:25 PM | Updated: 8:25 pm
Not since Roger Wehrli has a member of the Cardinals franchise been inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and that happened in 2007.
And no, Emmitt Smith does not count.
However, the team’s drought may come to a close soon. According to NFL.com’s Elliot Harrison, a pair of Cardinals will be enshrined in the near future.
In a piece meant to project the next 50 Hall of Famers, former Cardinals quarterback Kurt Warner gets the nod as part of the class of 2015, which is the first year he’ll be eligible.
What used to be considered a “maybe” has solidified into a “definitely”. Everyone I’ve spoken with feels Warner belongs in Canton, especially given the prolific late-career surge he enjoyed in 2008 and ’09, when he brought the Cardinals back from the dead in Michael Myers-esque fashion. Question is, will he be a first-ballot guy? With no competition at quarterback — and zero QB inductees since Troy Aikman and Warren Moon in 2006 — I’ll say yes.
It would be tough to find a Cardinals fan who disagrees with that choice, and it should be downright impossible to find one who has a problem with the other guy on the list: Aeneas Williams.
Harrison places the former defensive back among the class of 2017.
Williams finally gets the phone call. The other dominant cornerback of the ’90s is often overlooked. Unfortunately, playing in the same era as Rod Woodson and Deion Sanders (two of the best CBs ever) will do that to a guy. Thing is, Williams was as good as almost every other cornerback in the Hall — thus, he belongs. Troy Aikman called Williams the toughest corner he ever played against. That’s sayin’ something.
Indeed, Williams was one of the premier players during his day, and the fact that he has not yet gotten into the Hall of Fame is a bit of a crime. That said, as long as he gets there, the world will be right.
And the Hall of Fame would have a bit more Cardinal Red in it.
