Cincinnati Bengals great Willie Anderson is a finalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame for the second year in a row.
The NFL announced the finalists on Wednesday, with the final vote set to unfold in January.
Anderson, a top-10 pick by the Bengals in 1996, is one of the better right tackles of all time and last year was the first member of the franchise on the ballot since Anthony Munoz and Ken Anderson in 1998.
That makes it two former Bengals as finalists this year, as Anderson joins senior finalist Ken Riley on the January 17 ballot. Both must receive 80 percent approval from the Hall’s Board of Selectors to help overcome the fact the Bengals have the fewest players of any team in the Hall of Fame.
This is an especially great chance for Anderson to get in, as the offensive line logjam has cleared in recent years. The only other lineman finalist is former Browns great Joe Thomas.
Anderson and Isaac Curtis were inductees into Cincinnati’s Ring of Honor this year.
Congrats to Willie Anderson on being named a finalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame 👏 pic.twitter.com/NDivwsmhzT
— Cincinnati Bengals (@Bengals) January 5, 2023
