Devin Hester’s entry into the Pro Football Hall of Fame still has a strong chance of happening. That glory just won’t come this year.
In his first year of eligibility for the Hall, the record-breaking Chicago Bears returner was not voted to be enshrined in Canton, Ohio, news that became official Thursday night. His candidacy will push into 2023.
This year’s Hall of Fame class was formally announced Thursday at the NFL Honors extravaganza at the YouTube Theater in Los Angeles. The five modern-era players inducted were Tony Boselli, LeRoy Butler, the late Sam Mills, Richard Seymour and Bryant Young.
Young starred at Bloom High School in Chicago Heights before becoming an All-American at Notre Dame.
In addition, senior candidate Cliff Branch, contributor/referee Art McNally and coach Dick Vermeil were voted in.
Hester, who played the first eight of his 11 NFL seasons with the Bears, was one of 10 Hall finalists to have his bubble burst. The others were Jared Allen, Torry Holt, Reggie Wayne, Andre Johnson, DeMarcus Ware, Patrick Willis, Willie Anderson, Ronde Barber, Zach Thomas.
Hester has been open about how significant a spot in the Hall would be.
“To be honest, it would really mean the world to me to make the Hall of Fame,” he told the Tribune in 2019. “That’s something I look forward to. I hope I make it. I pray I make it. It would be the icing on the cake for my career.”
That icing, however, will have to wait at least another year.
Hester set an NFL record for career return touchdowns with 20, totaling 14 punt return scores and five kickoff return TDs while adding a 108-yard missed field-goal return.
He burst onto the scene as a Bears rookie in 2006 with five return touchdowns during the regular season, including a go-ahead 83-yard punt-return score in the Bears’ legendary 24-23 comeback win against the Arizona Cardinals on “Monday Night Football.”
That was the Bears’ signature victory in their most successful season of the 21st century, a championship campaign that ended with them facing the Indianapolis Colts in Super Bowl XLI in Miami Gardens, Fla. Hester opened that game with more fireworks, becoming the first — and still only — player in Super Bowl history to return the opening kickoff for a touchdown. That score covered 92 yards and is considered one of the most iconic plays in franchise history.
As the Bears began their 100th season in 2019, the Tribune ranked Hester’s Super Bowl return touchdown as the No. 7 moment in Bears history.
Hall of Fame coach Tony Dungy, who dared to kick to Hester to begin that Super Bowl, believes Hester deserves to be in the Hall of Fame.
“I saw a lot of dangerous returners during my 30 years in the NFL,” Dungy told the Tribune in 2019. “But Devin was a guy where you knew from probably Week 5 of his rookie year just how truly special he was. And he was still able to do that year after year, over and over. He was so dangerous. He’s one of those once-in-a-lifetime guys. And I’ve always thought that if you’re the best at what you do, if you’re the dominant player at your position, you need to be in the Hall of Fame.”
Added former Colts kicker Adam Vinatieri, whose Hall of Fame eligibility will begin in 2025: “Absolutely he belongs in the Hall of Fame. Without a doubt. He changed games. You’re telling me he wasn’t as important for his team as anybody else who played in the league? … In my mind, the Hall of Fame is for guys who changed the league and did special things that other guys weren’t capable of. He’s that guy. One-hundred percent. If I had a vote, I would 100% vote him in.”
Hester, who was named the No. 19 greatest Bears player of all-time by the Tribune in 2019, was a first-team All-Pro in 2006, 2007 and 2010 while earning second-team honors in 2011. He averaged 11.7 yards per punt return in his career, which ranks as the fourth-best average during the Super Bowl era. He also set the Bears’ single-game record for kickoff return yardage in Week 2 of 2013 with 249 yards.
While many debate the Hall of Fame candidacy of players who were specialists, it’s also worth noting that Hester became a significant part of the Bears offense, converting himself from a cornerback into a receiver and totaling 255 catches, 3,311 yards and 16 touchdowns in his career.
Hester was named to the NFL’s All-Decade Team twice, for the 2000s and 2010s. He also was included on the NFL’s 100th Anniversary All-Time Team in 2019.
Those familiar with the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s selection process believe Hester still has a very strong chance to earn entry in the coming years. The current selection rules cap each Hall of Fame class at five modern-era players.
Hester’s status as one of 15 modern-era finalists in his first year of eligibility is a strong statement. He is a near shoo-in to be on the list of approximately two dozen semifinalists that will be released again next fall. And when that group is reduced to 15 finalists again in January, Hester’s case figures to reopen for formal discussion for the 49-member Pro Football Hall of Fame selection committee, which is composed of one media representative from the cities of each NFL franchise plus 17 at-large selectors.
The Bears organization has 30 representatives in the Hall of Fame — the most of any franchise — with Jimbo Covert, Ed Sprinkle and Brian Urlacher as the most recent inductees. Despite this year’s disappointment, Hester is hopeful to become a part of that fraternity soon.
After leaving Chicago in 2014, Hester played in 21 games over two seasons with the Atlanta Falcons and finished his career with a short stint with the Seattle Seahawks in 2016. In April 2018, he signed a one-day contract with the Bears in order to formally retire with the organization that drafted him in the second round in 2006.
“The most prolific returner in the history of the game is a Bear,” team Chairman George McCaskey said that day. “We’re very proud of that and we’re proud of Devin.”
Hester expressed his pride as well while thanking so many of his Bears teammates who helped his rise.
“It was amazing to be part of a group of guys where every time I stepped on the field these guys were saying, ‘Please follow me, I’ve got your back,’ ” Hester said. “It’s an honor and a privilege to be in this family.”