The Chicago Bears and Houston Texans will face off in the 2024 Pro Football Hall of Fame Game on Thursday, August 1 at 8 pm ET, airing on ESPN, ABC, ESPN+ and ESPN Deportes.
The game kicked off Hall of Fame Week in Canton, Ohio, when seven players will be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
See below for more information on each inductee.
Dwight Freeney, defensive end
Indianapolis Colts, 2002-12, San Diego Chargers, 2013-14, Arizona Cardinals, 2015, Atlanta Falcons, 2016, Detroit Lions, 2017, Seattle Seahawks, 2017
Although some initially questioned whether Freeney was too short (6'1″) to play defensive end, he was selected to the Pro Bowl seven times and to the All-Pro First Team three times during his 11 years with the Colts. Freeney was the 11th pick in the 2002 draft and immediately excelled with the Colts (13 sacks as a rookie and finished second in Defensive Rookie of the Year voting) and became one of the most consistent and impactful pass rushers of the Super Bowl era.
Freeney, an All-Decade selection of the 2000s, finished 18th in career sacks (a statistic that became official in 1982) with 125.5. His spin move was frequently cited by opposing linemen as one of the toughest pass-rush moves for any player to deal with. He recorded 47 forced fumbles, including a league-leading nine as a rookie. Freeney recorded at least 10 sacks in seven seasons and at least four forced fumbles in eight seasons.
Randy Gradishar, linebacker
Denver Broncos, 1974-83
Gradishar was the first player on the legendary Orange Crush defense that would go on to have a major flop in Canton. Gradishar anchored the Broncos' legendary teams during the era of Pittsburgh's Steel Curtain, Dallas' Doomsday and Minnesota's Purple People Eaters. During Gradishar's career, the Broncos ranked in the top 10 in rush defense, pass defense, total defense, scoring defense and interceptions. From 1977-1981, the Broncos were first in fewest yards allowed and fewest passing touchdowns allowed.
Gradishar may have been the most decorated Hall of Fame senior with a franchise-record 2,049 tackles. He never missed a game, was selected to the Pro Bowl seven times and was named to the first or second team All-Pro four times. He was the first inside linebacker in a 3-4 defense to finish in the top three in the voting for Defensive Player of the Year (1977) and the first to win Defensive Player of the Year (1978).
Devin Hester, wide receiver, kick returner, punt returner
Chicago Bears, 2006-13, Atlanta Falcons, 2014-15, Baltimore Ravens, 2016, Seattle Seahawks, 2016
Hester's 19 regular season touchdown returns (14 punts and five kickoffs) are a league record, including the opening kickoff return for a touchdown in Super Bowl XLI. He achieved this despite opponents mostly trying to keep the ball away from him after returning three punts and two kickoffs for touchdowns in his rookie season. Hester is a rare player to have been named to two All-Decade teams (2000s and 2010s), and was named one of the NFL's All-Century Team returners as part of the league's 100th anniversary celebrations.
Many personnel executives, former opponents and teammates consider him the greatest returner of all time. Before kickoffs were taken from the 35-yard line, teams often chose to send kickoffs out of bounds, handing the ball to the Bears at their 40-yard line. Rather than put the ball in Hester's hands, he once returned a kickoff for a touchdown when Chicago put hands on the field instead of the usual blocker assignment. He is the only player in history to have at least five special teams touchdowns in a season, which he did twice. He is also the only returner to have led the league twice in both kickoff and punt return yards. At age 34, in the final game of his career, he recorded a career-high in kickoff return yards in the postseason (194).
Andre Johnson, wide receiver
Houston Texans, 2003-14, Indianapolis Colts, 2015, Tennessee Titans, 2016
Johnson is that rare combination of size, strength, speed and fearlessness that makes him a receiver. Before the 2003 draft, the 6-foot-2, 230-pound Johnson ran the 40-yard dash in 4.41 seconds and had a vertical leap of 41 inches at Miami's pro day. That was just the beginning of a seven-time Pro Bowl career that included 14,185 receiving yards and 70 receiving touchdowns. He played 12 of his 14 NFL seasons as a recruit for the Texans, who drafted him with the No. 3 pick in the draft.
Johnson has twice led the league in receptions and receiving yards. He has recorded 21 games with 10 or more receptions and 100 or more yards receiving in his career, the most of any player in NBA history. He also has eight games with 10 or more receptions, 150 yards receiving and one touchdown, also league records. Johnson and Hall of Famer Jerry Rice are the only players to record multiple 1,400-yard seasons after turning 30.
Steve McMichael, defensive tackle
New England Patriots, 1980, Chicago Bears, 1981-1993, Green Bay Packers, 1994
McMichael, who has ALS, had some on his way to Canton to break into the NFL arena, but that wasn't the case. He played just six games as a rookie because of a back injury and was released by the Patriots. He didn't play a full 16-game season until his senior year with the Bears. But there he began his Gold Jacket career as part of one of the best defenses in the league's history. From 1983 to 1993, McMichael was a foundational player, recording 95 career sacks and becoming one of the best inside pass rushers.
McMichael recorded at least eight sacks in seven seasons. Since sacks became an official statistic, only four defensive tackles have recorded at least eight sacks in more seasons than McMichael: Hall of Famers John Randle, Alan Page, Alex Karras, and recently retired Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald. During McMichael's 11 years as the Bears' starting defensive tackle, Chicago allowed the second-fewest rushing yards and led the league in sacks. During the Bears' defensive peak of six seasons (1983-1988), he recorded 53 sacks. He was named to the All-Pro first team twice and the second team once, and was selected to the Pro Bowl twice in those six seasons.
read more: Steve McMichael's Pro Football Hall of Fame Battle
Julius Peppers, defensive end
Carolina Panthers, 2002-09, 2017-18, Chicago Bears, 2010-13, Green Bay Packers, 2014-16
Peppers, who stood 6-foot-6 1/4 and weighed 283 pounds at the 2002 NFL Scouting Combine, intrigued talent evaluators as a future pass rusher due to his background at the University of North Carolina. However, it was his two seasons with the Tar Heels basketball team in 56 games, averaging 5.7 points and 3.7 rebounds per game that made Peppers one of the best pass rushers in league history. He is fourth on the official sack list with 159.5 sacks and is one of four players on the list to finish their careers with 155 or more sacks. He also has six career touchdowns, with four interception returns and two fumble returns.
Only Jim Marshall and Hall of Famer Bruce Smith have played more games as a defensive end than Peppers' 266. While he never led the league in sacks in a season, he recorded 10 or more sacks in 17 seasons and 12 or more sacks three times. He also recorded 11 career interceptions, 52 forced fumbles and 82 pass knockdowns. At age 38, he finished the 2018 season with five sacks and six knockdowns. He was selected to nine Pro Bowls, three first-team All-Pro selections and was named to the All-Decade Team of the 2000s.
Patrick Willis, linebacker
San Francisco 49ers, 2007-14
Willis accomplished more in his eight-year career than most players ever could. Like Hall of Famer Jack Lambert, he retired due to a painful toe injury that never healed and severely limited his athleticism. He played six games in his final season, underwent surgery and retired the following spring. But seven Pro Bowl appearances and five All-Pro selections are rare on his resume. He also was named to the All-Decade Team of the 2010s despite only playing in half of the decade.
Willis was an elite player from the moment he stepped onto an NFL field. In his rookie season, he led the league in tackles with 174, earning Defensive Rookie of the Year honors, a first-team All-Pro selection, and a Pro Bowl selection. Willis is the first rookie inside linebacker to be named to the first-team All-Pro team since Dick Butkus. He led the league in tackles again in 2009, and was a key part of the 49ers' defense, recording six 100-tackle seasons and five 120-tackle seasons. During his eight seasons with the NFL, he led the league in solo tackles, tied for first in forced fumbles, and was second in pass knockdowns.
