The Minnesota Vikings announced on Tuesday that cornerback Bobby Bryant was the latest inductee in the Ring of Honor. He spent 14 seasons with the Vikings and is the team's leader in interceptions with 57 in the regular season and playoffs combined.
His inclusion spared a lot of debate about others who should be enshrined in the Ring of Honor. There was discussion about multiple other candidates who other believe should have gotten the not before Bryant. One of those is Anthony Carter, but our own Judd Zulgad explained why he may never see the Ring of Honor.
Controversy surrounds Minnesota Vikings Ring of Honor
The Vikings have a very storied history with 22 players enshrined in the Hall of Fame. They also have 28 people in the Ring of Honor with Bryant set to be the 29th. Some of the older players have struggled to get the call.
Left tackle Grady Alderman might be the best player who hasn't been enshrined. He played in the NFL for 15 seasons with the final 14 as a member of the Vikings. Alderman has an Approximate Value (AV) on Pro Football Reference of 107 which is an impressive number. The era of the 1980s doesn't have many members with Jerry Burns, Scott Studwell, Steve Jordan, Joey Browner, Matt Blair and Ahmad Rashad being the only representatives.
One that should be enshrined is quarterback Tommy Kramer. A first-round pick in the 1977 NFL Draft, Kramer was the starter through the majority of the 80s when he was healthy. Kramer recently revealed that he was supposed to get into the Ring of Honor, but wide receiver Cris Carter wanted to go in right away.
AC was special, he definitely is deserving.
— Tommy Kramer (@Kramer9Tommy) July 17, 2024
Red McCombs was all set to put me in, I was told that Cris Carter wanted to go in right away, they asked if I could wait till the next year, I agreed. Red sold team and I wasn’t chose next year. Which is ok, I’m happy for everyone,… https://t.co/GGtS3wVFA7
That's a surprise, especially for how Kramer has done so much within the community over the last 20 years. He's not the only snub from the era. Patrick Reusse, who wrote for The Star Tribune for years, tweeted about why Carter being snubbed was ridiculous and credited Rashad's PR team for his inclusion. Former Pioneer Press beat writer Bob Sansevere mentioned many other snubs from the same era.
AC is one of many snubs from that era, including HOFer Gary Zimmerman, NFL Defensive Player of the Year Keith Millard, QB Tommy Kramer, all-pro CB Carl Lee. https://t.co/oZ3xJP4nAC
— Bob “The BS Show” Sansevere (@bobsansevere) July 17, 2024
Millard was one of the great defensive lineman of the era and helped usher in the era of John Randle. Zimmerman makes some sense as to why he wasn't included, as he played in just seven seasons with the Vikings. Although, he did make two All-Pro teams and four Pro Bowls with the Vikings.
The other snub is Lee, who is the only cornerback to play in more games for the Vikings than Bryant. Now, he wasn't nearly as prolific when it comes to interceptions, but Lee wasn't a slouch with 29 of his 31 interceptions with the Vikings. He also made three-consecutive Pro Bowls with a first-team All-Pro nod in 1988.
The Ring of Honor should be a relatively select group, but it feels time to get some of these players in over the next few years.
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