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Eli Manning advances in Pro Football Hall of Fame voting process

ELI-MANNING

Exactly 50 Modern-Era Players have advanced in the voting process for the Pro Football Hall of Fame's Class of 2025, including first-year nominee Eli Manning and Giants all-time leading rusher Tiki Barber.

Candidates for the Hall in this category last could have appeared in a professional football game in the 2019 season.

Each member of the Modern-Era Players Screening Committee, a new entity created this year to add additional input around the overall selection process, cast a ballot for 50 individuals from a list of 167 nominees consisting of 94 offensive players, 56 defensive players and 17 special teamers. If any player(s) had tied for the 50th position, he would have remained eligible for the Class of 2025, but that did not occur this year.

The 50 Modern-Era Players who remain eligible for the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2025 are:

(*-indicates Finalist for the Class of 2024. Bold indicates first year of eligibility.)

QUARTERBACKS (2): Eli Manning, Steve McNair

RUNNING BACKS (6): Shaun Alexander, Tiki Barber, Eddie George, Marshawn Lynch, Fred Taylor*, Ricky Watters

WIDE RECEIVERS (6): Anquan Boldin, Torry Holt, Jimmy Smith, Steve Smith Sr., Hines Ward, Reggie Wayne

TIGHT ENDS (2): Ben Coates, Antonio Gates*

OFFENSIVE LINEMEN (12): Willie Anderson* (T), Lomas Brown (T), Ruben Brown (G), Jahri Evans* (G), Olin Kreutz (C), Logan Mankins (G), Jeff Saturday (C), Joe Staley (T), Richmond Webb (T), Erik Williams (T), Steve Wisniewski (G), Marshal Yanda (G)

DEFENSIVE LINEMEN (8): John Abraham (DE also LB), Jared Allen* (DE), Robert Mathis (DE), Haloti Ngata (DT), Simeon Rice (DE), Neil Smith (DE), Vince Wilfork (DT/NT), Kevin Williams (DT)

LINEBACKERS (5): Cornelius Bennett, London Fletcher, James Harrison, Luke Kuechly, Terrell Suggs

DEFENSIVE BACKS (6): Eric Allen* (CB), Kam Chancellor (S), Rodney Harrison* (S), Earl Thomas (S), Troy Vincent (CB), Darren Woodson* (S)

SPECIAL TEAMS (3): Gary Anderson (K), Brian Mitchell (KR/PR also RB), Adam Vinatieri (K)

In the next step of the process, each member of the Hall of Fame's full Selection Committee will review the above list and cast a vote for the 25 nominees each believes should advance to the Semifinalist stage. The names of the 25 Semifinalists (plus ties if any for the 25th position) will be announced in about four weeks.

Reduction votes also are occurring in the Seniors, Coach and Contributor categories. Eventually, 20 Finalists will be presented at the Selection Committee's annual meeting next year in advance of Super Bowl LIX: 15 Modern-Era Players, three Seniors, one Coach and one Contributor.

While there is no set number for any class of Enshrinees, the Hall of Fame's selection process bylaws stipulate that between four and eight new members will be selected.

The Pro Football Hall of Fame's Class of 2025 will be announced at "NFL Honors" in New Orleans, La., in February and enshrined in August in Canton.

View photos of the New York Giants' Top 100 Players in franchise history, ranked by an independent committee, in celebration of the Giants' 100th season.

Recently, Tom Coughlin, the former Giants coach who led the franchise to its two most recent Super Bowl victories, moved another step closer to potential enshrinement in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Coughlin, the Gants' coach from 2004-15, was named one of 12 individuals in the Coach category eligible for the Hall's Class of 2025.

Dan Reeves and Bill Arnsparger, two other former Giants head coaches, and Marty Schottenheimer, who was a Giants assistant coach, are also among the final 12.

The Hall's nine-member Coach Blue-Ribbon Committee narrowed its original list of 14 nominees to 12 coaches: In addition to Coughlin, Reeves, Arnsparger, and Schottenheimer, they are Jeff Fisher, Alex Gibbs, Mike Holmgren, Chuck Knox, Richie Petitbon, George Seifert, Mike Shanahan, and Clark Shaughnessy.

Hall of Fame bylaws stipulate that each Coach Blue-Ribbon Committee member votes for 12 individuals at this stage of the selection process. Each will cast an additional ballot later this month to reduce the list to nine semifinalists, with those results announced in about two weeks.

Through a sequence of reduction votes over several weeks, the Blue-Ribbon Committee will select one Finalist for the Class of 2025.

Additionally, following a second reduction vote of candidates in the Seniors category, 31 former players remain in contention for the Pro Football Hall of Fame's Class of 2025.

Members of the Hall of Fame's Seniors Blue-Ribbon Committee produced the list from the 60 names they had received after a screening committee cast the initial ballots in the highly competitive selection process.

Each of the 182 former players nominated for election and screened in the opening round of voting last could have appeared in a professional football game in the 1999 season.

The players — 20 offensive and 11 defensive — who remain in consideration for the Class of 2025 are:

QUARTERBACKS (3): Ken Anderson, Charlie Conerly, Jim Plunkett.

RUNNING BACKS (5): Ottis Anderson, Roger Craig, Chuck Foreman, Cecil Isbell, Paul "Tank" Younger.

WIDE RECEIVERS (5): Billy "White Shoes" Johnson, Stanley Morgan, Art Powell, Sterling Sharpe, Otis Taylor.

OFFENSIVE LINEMEN (7): Ox Emerson, Joe Jacoby, Mike Kenn, Bob Kuechenberg, George Kunz, Jim Tyrer, Al Wistert.

DEFENSIVE LINEMEN (2): Jim Marshall, Harvey Martin.

LINEBACKERS (5): Carl Banks, Maxie Baughan, Larry Grantham, Clay Matthews Jr., Tommy Nobis.

DEFENSIVE BACKS (4): Lester Hayes, Albert Lewis, Eddie Meador, Everson Walls.

View photos of two-time Super Bowl champion head coach Tom Coughlin.

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Giants 100th season book on sale now

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