The names of the new Hall of Fame class officially will be announced soon. Which means that unofficial news about the new class will emerge.
Here’s one, which is unofficially official given the source: Former NFL defensive back Everson Walls has disclosed via Twitter that he didn’t make it.
Walls expresses a positive attitude in his tweet, vowing to launch a campaign to get a bronze bust in 2019. But the glass will be far less than half-full. It was his final year of eligibility for a spot as a modern finalist; he’ll now have to try to make it through the Seniors Committee.
While it’s typically much easier to get in once a player becomes a Seniors Committee finalist, it’s enormously harder to become a Seniors Committee finalist, with a rotation of two and one ultimately receiving the up-or-down treatment each year.
Walls spent 13 years in the NFL. His first nine game with the Cowboys. He then played for the Giants (winning Super Bowl XXV) and the Browns. He has 57 total career interceptions (part of a five-way tie for 13th on the all-time list), after getting 11 as a rookie.