Terrell Suggs and Marshal Yanda have moved a step closer to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in their first year of eligibility.
Suggs and Yanda are among 25 modern-era semifinalists for the Class of 2025, the Hall of Fame announced on Wednesday. Suggs and Yanda have a chance to join Jonathan Ogden, Ray Lewis, and Ed Reed as first-ballot Hall of Famers.
The list of semifinalists also includes former Ravens Anquan Boldin (2010-12 with Baltimore), Steve Smith Sr. (2014-16), Willie Anderson (2008) and Earl Thomas (2019). Former Ravens defensive tackle Haloti Ngata did not make the cut to 25.
Suggs ranks eighth on the all-time sacks list with 139 over his 17 seasons, and all seven players in front of him are Hall of Famers. He won two Super Bowls: one with the Ravens in 2012 and another with the Kansas City Chiefs as a late-season addition in 2019.
He was the NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 2011, when he had a career-high 14 sacks and seven forced fumbles. He was the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2003, when he immediately announced himself as a defensive force with 12 sacks. Over 17 seasons, Suggs was a seven-time Pro Bowler.
Yanda went to the Pro Bowl in eight of his nine seasons at right guard (every year he was healthy). He was a two-time first-team All-Pro (2014 & 2015), a five-time second-team All-Pro, and was named to the NFL 2010s All-Decade Team.
Yanda helped lead the Ravens to a Super Bowl victory in 2012 and spent his entire 13-year career with Baltimore. He was still one of the league's top offensive linemen when he retired in 2019 and made the Pro Bowl in his final season.
On Hall of Fame NFL executive Gil Brandt's list of the best guards in NFL history, Yanda ranked 11th, ahead of Hall of Fame guard Steve Hutchinson who was 15th.
The list of 25 modern-era players has been reduced from 167 nominees who were announced in September. The next step in the modern-era players category will be a cut to 15 finalists later this year. Between four and eight nominees will be inducted into the Class of 2025.
Boldin was an integral figure in the Ravens' 2012 Super Bowl run and stands at 14th in league history in career receiving yards (13,779). Smith is 8th on the all-time receiving list (14,731), ahead of other Hall of Fame wide receivers such as Marvin Harrison, Andre Johnson, and Cris Carter.
