This is a bit of a sad weekend for Minnesota Vikings fans. Any time the purple and gold aren’t part of the Super Bowl, it breaks the hearts of those devoted to the team a little more and makes the question of when a championship will ever come to the Land of 10,000 Lakes seem a bit direr.
Still, there have been some good things to pay attention to after the Vikings’ season was over. Justin Jefferson was in contention for Offensive Rookie of the Year and former Minnesota pass rusher Jared Allen was named a finalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Although both of those former Vikings aren’t expected to get good news about their potential accolades, there was still a lot of hope that Allen would get the knock on his door to let him know he would be part of the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2021.
The decision was made on Jared Allen and it was sadly announced at the NFL Honors event broadcasted on CBS that he would not be part of this year’s class. Here are the eight individuals who got the call for the Hall according to Adam Schefter on Twitter.
Congratulations to the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2021: Alan Faneca, Tom Flores, Calvin Johnson, John Lynch, Peyton Manning, Bill Nunn, Drew Pearson, Charles Woodson.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) February 7, 2021
Allen is ranked 12th all-time in sacks with 136. He is one of three former Vikings to be in the top 12, with the other two being John Randle (137.5) and Chris Doleman (150.5). His ability to consistently win one-on-one battles against offensive linemen made him a game-changing player and forced other teams to make plans to slow down his pass rush.
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His larger than life personality and amazing mullet made him a beloved player off the field as well. Allen’s five Pro Bowls, and four All-Pro First-Team nods along with NFL record four forced safeties are more reasons the “Sax Machine” will eventually be a great addition to Canton, Ohio. He will just need to be patient.