Richard Seymour Announced As 30th Member Of Patriots Hall Of Fame
BOSTON (CBS) -- Richard Seymour will soon take his place among the other greats of the New England Patriots. Later this year, Seymour will become the 30th person to be enshrined in the Patriots Hall of Fame, the franchise announced Monday morning.
Seymour spent eight seasons wreaking havoc along the New England defensive line after the team drafted him sixth overall in 2001, helping lead the franchise to six division titles, four conference crowns and three Super Bowl championships. He was named to five straight Pro Bowls (2002-06) and earned three straight first-team All-Pro honors (2003-05) during his time with the Patriots.
"Richard Seymour laid the foundation for a defense that helped propel the Patriots to three Super Bowl championships in his first four seasons in the NFL," said Patriots Chairman and CEO Robert Kraft. "Richard was the consummate professional and leader, always accepting the roles he was assigned, putting team goals ahead of personal ones, and in turn, raising the game of everyone around him. Yet as great as he was as a player, he is a Hall of Fame-caliber person, as well. I couldn't be happier for Richard and the Seymour family, and I am looking forward to celebrating with them as Richard takes his rightful place in the Patriots Hall of Fame and very soon the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton."
A bastion on the Patriots defense, Seymour was a four-time team co-captain and was voted to the Patriots 50th Anniversary Team and the 2000s All-Decade Team in 2009. During his time with the Patriots, he anchored a defense that allowed an average of 17.8 points per game and allowed fewer than 20 points per game in six of his eight seasons with New England.
Overall, Seymour totaled 460 tackles, including 256 solos stops, with 39 sacks with the Patriots. He also recorded two interceptions and six fumble recoveries. He played in 15 postseason games with 13 starts and added 66 total tackles, 4.5 sacks and two fumble recoveries. In 2004, he scored his first career touchdown on a fumble recovery that he returned 68 yards in a 31-17 win at Buffalo. Seymour was traded to Oakland in the summer of 2009, where he played the final four years of his career, producing two additional Pro Bowl seasons.
Seymour has been a finalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame for the last two years.
He now joins Troy Brown (2012), Tedy Bruschi (2013), Kevin Faulk (2016), Ty Law (2014), Matt Light (2018) and Willie McGinest (2015), as the seventh player to enter the Patriots Hall of Fame as a three-time Super Bowl champion with the team.
Seymour beat out three-time Super Bowl champ Mike Vrabel and former New England head coach Bill Parcells in the fan voting process. The date and time for the 2020 Patriots Hall of Fame induction ceremony will be announced at a later date.