Three Patriots legends are Hall of Fame semifinalists

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Three Patriots legends are Hall of Fame semifinalists

Chris Mason · MassLive

Tue, Nov 25, 2025 ·

2 min read

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A trio of Patriots legends have advanced to the semifinalist stage of the Pro Football Hall of Fame voting.

Safety Rodney Harrison, defensive tackle Vince Wilfork , and kicker Adam Vinatieri made the cut as the field was narrowed to 26 candidates. All three players have been voted as semifinalists before, but only Harrison made it to the finalist stage last year.

Harrison was the first player in NFL history to record 30 sacks and 30 interceptions, while Wilfork was a five-time Pro Bowler, and Vinatieri is the NFL’s all-time leading scorer (2,673 points).

During his final years as Patriots coach, Bill Belichick was a vociferous advocate of Harrison for enshrinement in Canton.

“Best safety I’ve coached. There’s a couple other ones that I’ve coached that are in the Hall of Fame. Fantastic player, person. Great competitor. Could do it all. One of the most versatile players I’ve ever coached,” Belichick said. “Could cover. He really could play corner. He was a great blitzer. He was a great tackler. Was really, really hard to block in the running game, as a blitzer, kickoff coverage, things like that. He was very explosive. He was 220 pounds, whatever he was, but he was a thumper. He was a contact player but ran well. Very instinctive. Did a great job at disguising coverages.

“Worked well with his teammates, with Eugene [Wilson], and some different safeties we had back there throughout his career. He was just a heck of a football player. One of the best I’ve ever coached. He’d certainly be on my All-Time team without question. Behind [Lawrence] Taylor, but, I mean he would certainly be. He’d be right up there. Tremendous player.”

Former Patriots Logan Mankins , Asante Samuel and James Harrison were among those who didn’t advance in the latest round of cuts.

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