Why isn’t Jim Marshall in the Pro Football Hall of Fame?

His stats aren’t Hall of Fame caliber

Currently, Jim Marshall is sitting with the second-most career sacks in Vikings history with 127. Only Carl Eller has had more sacks (130) in a Minnesota uniform than Marshall.

Despite his standing in the Vikings’ record book, Marshall’s numbers aren’t really that impressive. Yes, he accumulated 127 sacks during his time with Minnesota, but he did this over the course of 19 years.

That’s an average of less than seven sacks per season. As a defensive end, averaging less than seven sacks per year isn’t exactly the path that leads directly into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Look at a guy like Bruce Smith. The former NFL defensive end spent 19 seasons in the league and he averaged more than 10 sacks per year. It’s no surprise that Smith has been inducted into the Hall of Fame.

Current Vikings pass rusher Everson Griffen even has a higher sack per season average than Marshall. Everyone knows that Griffen is a great player, but he’s probably not going to end up in Canton.

So while some may take a quick glance at Marshall’s numbers during his career and think that they’re comparable to some current Hall of Famers, they’re actually not.

His stats were more the product of how long was able to play in the league. Which is an impressive accomplishment as well, but still not something that would result in him getting a Hall of Fame induction.