Which Seahawks great will get inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame next?

It’s Pro Football Hall of Fame weekend in Canton, with the Class of 2023 enshrined in Saturday’s ceremonies.

The Seattle Seahawks have no HOFers in this year’s class, including anyone who spent their careers elsewhere and had a brief stop in Seattle like Edgerrin James or Franco Harris. Seattle’s last Hall of Fame inductee was Steve Hutchinson in 2020, and the last one who spent the majority of their career with the Seahawks was Kenny Easley back in 2017.

Our question is: Who’s the next Seahawks legend to make it into Canton?

Let’s set aside jokey answers like Devin Hester—he genuinely should be in the HOF—or Dwight Freeney for a second and focus on players whose best years were with the Seahawks. A lot of this is dependent on the voting committee, but also when some active Seahawks retire.

Bobby Wagner’s HOF credentials are undeniable, but we don’t know how many more years he will play. First-year eligibility begins five years after retirement, so Wagner isn’t eligible until the end of the 2020s at the earliest.

Russell Wilson is absolutely not a HOF lock and another subpar season in Denver may jeopardize his chances even further. However, if he bounces back, has a dominant year and the Broncos make a deep playoff run, then he’s got a way back into the discussion. I’m of the opinion that his impact on the game as an elite dual-threat QB who defied the odds as a sub 6’0 QB merits Hall of Fame consideration. Kyler Murray isn’t going No. 1 overall if not for Wilson’s success.

Of the former Seahawks, Marshawn Lynch (eligible in 2025) feels like he should be a Hall of Fame running back, but this is a position that not only is experiencing ongoing devaluing, it’s also one that could have a knock-on effect for RBs ever getting into Canton in future seasons. Of the 31 running backs who have over 10,000 career regular season rushing yards, only 16 are in the HOF but that’s going to increase to 18 once Frank Gore and Adrian Peterson are in. Hopefully Lynch’s memorable postseason contributions will give him a boost.

Richard Sherman, Kam Chancellor, and Earl Thomas were key members of one of the greatest secondaries of all-time. It’d be nuts if none of them got into the Hall of Fame. I believe Sherman has the strongest chance, followed by Thomas, and then Kam. Honestly I don’t know what to think of ET’s HOF prospects anymore given his unceremonious end to his career.

Shaun Alexander has been a semifinalist but never a finalist, and sadly I don’t think he really has a chance to get in. Those last two seasons following his MVP year basically took a HOF trajectory and dumped it in the toilet, and it’s not his fault.

Mike Holmgren is a semifinalist in the Coaches/Contributors wing for the Class of 2024, but only one gets in so it’s not likely that he’ll be the finalist nominated this year. I believe he will be in Canton one day and ideally while he’s still alive. We wouldn’t have this discussion if the Seahawks had won Super Bowl XL.

And, of course, there’s Pete Carroll, who has the Seahawks’ only Super Bowl win and is pushing for another. He’ll never retire and therefore will never be eligible for the Hall of Fame.

Who do you believe is the next Seahawk to be Canton-bound? Answer below in the comments section!