HOF Campaign for John Lynch: Ryan Edwards

Hall of Fame Campaign for John Lynch

Ryan Edwards

Congrats to two tremendous teammates – Simon Fletcher & Jason Elam – and one of the all-time greats – John Lynch – on joining our ROF!

— John Elway (@johnelway) May 17, 2016

Credit: Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports

The Broncos announced Tuesday afternoon that the 2016 Broncos Ring of Fame Class would include three former players spanning across different “eras” of the team’s history. This year’s class included LB Simon Fletcher, K Jason Elam and S John Lynch. Broncos owner Pat Bowlen instituted the Ring of Fame in 1984 and, including this year’s class, 31 names have been awarded this honor. As a general rule set by Mr. Bowlen, players and coaches must be out of the league for at least five years and have been with the team for a minimum of four years before becoming eligible for the Broncos Ring of Fame. Broncos VP of Football Operations, John Elway, represents the only exception to that eligibility rule as he was inducted in 1999, the year following his retirement from the NFL.

Despite the exceptional careers of these three players, social media and sports talk radio immediately began to discuss additional players that could have gone in ahead of them. Not many argued that Fletcher and Elam both deserved to be among those honored but Lynch, who only played four seasons as a Bronco, seemed to some to be a bit of a reach. Part of the dissension among the Broncos fan base was that Lynch was with Tampa Bay for 11 of his 15 seasons and by many NFL fans, will always be a Buccaneer. It’s a similar situation to Peyton Manning, who spent his first 14 seasons with Indianapolis and will always be considered a Colt by most fans.

Even if Denver fans accept that Lynch was an important part of Broncos history, the question comes up, “Why now?” Specifically, why is John Lynch going in ahead of players like Ed McCaffery? Did Lynch really have a bigger impact on the Broncos in his four years than defensive players like Trevor Pryce, Al Wilson and Alfred Williams? They may all make it into the Ring of Fame at some point, but the answer to these questions points to the quote above from Joe Ellis. Sure, Lynch is deserving to be recognized as a talented safety in NFL history; however, do you know how many pure safeties have been elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame since 1986? Zero. This is speculation, but John Lynch’s Ring of Fame honors this year could be the Broncos and Buccaneers assistance in a campaign to get him into the Hall of Fame. He has been a finalist the past three years but unable to make the final push. As Ellis points out, the next logical step for Lynch would be the Pro Football Hall of Fame following induction into the Ring of Fame for BOTH teams he played for. It’s been 30 years since a pure safety has been inducted into the HOF and the push from these two teams may be what is needed to break that streak.

John Lynch: 4 years with Broncos; 4 Pro Bowls. Also going in Tampa Bay Ring of Honor this year. Canton would make Holy Immortality #9sports

— Mike Klis (@MikeKlis) May 17, 2016

Lynch was clearly productive in his four seasons with the Broncos, reaching the Pro Bowl each year, and establishing one of the most dominant defenses in Broncos history. In 2005, the Denver defense allowed a league low 16.1 points per game and propelled the team to the AFC Championship game where, unfortunately, they lost to the inevitable Super Bowl Champion Pittsburgh Steelers. In his four seasons as a Bronco, he had 304 tackles (215 solo), 7 sacks, 3 interceptions, and 9 forced fumbles.

I watched John Lynch in Tampa Bay & Denver. His 2004-05 seasons in Denver match up to anything he did as a Buc. pic.twitter.com/lpwJTn9rwv

— Andrew Mason (@MaseDenver) May 17, 2016

John Lynch joined Schlereth and Evans Wednesday morning to discuss his induction into the Ring of Fame and address some of the dissension among the Broncos fan base about his eligibility for this honor. “I didn’t induct myself,” said Lynch. “I had 11 great years in Tampa, I never thought I was going any place else. I had some health issues with stingers, had neck surgery. There were a lot of people that didn’t think I had anything left. You know, I had some doubts myself, just with my neck if I’d be able to play again. Denver took a chance.”

On Tuesday, Joe Ellis made it clear to The Drive that many players, including WR Ed McCaffery will definitely have opportunities next year and beyond. “We’re taking a hard look at perhaps players that were overlooked as soon as their time for eligibility arises.”