It’s that time of year again.
In what has frustratingly become an annual tradition, Cowboys safety Darren Woodson begins his wait- for the eighth time now- to see if he will finally be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton.
The Hall has announced its list of modern-era semifinalists for the Class of 2024; Woodson is among 25 former players to reach this stage out of an original group of 173 nominees. Woodson was previously a semifinalist in 2015, 2017, and every year from 2019 through 2023. He made it to the finalist stage last year for the first time.
Woodson’s achievements during his 12-year Cowboys career speak for themselves. The franchise’s all-time leading tackler. Three-time Super Bowl champ. Five-time Pro Bowler. Four-time first-team All-Pro. Ring of Honor member… since 2015.
It’s more than enough to have also gotten him a gold jacket long ago.
“Anytime you’re in a situation where you’re up for an award and you don’t win it… I’d be a fool and lying to you if I said I wasn’t disappointed,” Woodson, now 54, said after being passed over for inclusion in the Class of 2023.
“I’m disappointed, but I’m not broken by it… I feel like, at some point, it’s going to happen.”
🚨 NEWS🚨
The Pro Football Hall of Fame is proud to announce 25 Modern-Era Semifinalists for the Class of 2024.
Full Story: https://t.co/sjzl2DDM4M pic.twitter.com/uiQaeEf79p
— Pro Football Hall of Fame (@ProFootballHOF) November 28, 2023
Tiki Barber, Julius Peppers, Antonio Gates, Devin Hester, and Steve Smith Sr. are among Woodson’s fellow semifinalists this year. So is running back Eddie George, the longtime Houston Oiler/Tennessee Titan who spent his final NFL season as a Cowboy.
The list of 25 semifinalists will be narrowed down to 15 modern-era finalists before the final voting process. That list will then be thinned to 10 and then just five names during a meeting of the Hall of Fame’s Selection Committee after the first of the year. The Class of 2024 will be announced during Super Bowl Week in Las Vegas in early February.
