Detroit Lions making hard push to get alumni into the Hall of Fame

This week, the NFL announced 128 modern-era players who have been nominated for the 2026 Pro Football Hall of Fame. As it pertains to the Detroit Lions, there are no newly-eligible former Lions on the list, but there are a couple of long-time nominees who are still looking to get in: kicker Jason Hanson and offensive tackle Lomas Brown.

This year, it appears the Lions are trying to make a hard push to get Brown into a gold jacket. On Friday, the team debuted an entire website entitled “The Case for Lomas.” The impressive page features a list of accolades, an essay explaining Brown’s worthiness for the Hall of Fame, and a ton of testimonials from coaches and players arguing his case. That includes a video over four minutes in length of Hall of Famer Barry Sanders making the case for Brown.

“If you look at his body of work over all of those years that he played, you look at his performance against the top defensive tackles, Hall of Fame defensive tackles, you look at where he would’ve been ranked as one of the top offensive tackles during his time, then you definitely can make a strong case for him being in the Hall of Fame,” Sanders said.

Brown played 18 years in the NFL, 11 of which were with the Lions, as their first-round draft pick in 1985. Over the course of his career, Brown was named to seven straight Pro Bowls, two second-team All Pro teams, and one first-team All Pro. He won a Super Bowl in the final year of his career, as a backup for the 2002 Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Some other notable accolades pointed out by the website:

• Brown ranks first in NFL history in games (263) and starts at offensive tackle (251).
• Since 1970, there have been 10 OTs with at least seven Pro Bowls, three All Pros and a Super Bowl ring. Eight have made the Hall of Fame, one is not eligible yet (Trent Williams), and the other is Lomas Brown.
• From 1994 to 2000, Brown only committed a single holding penalty. From 1990-2000, he was called for just three holding penalties.

And here are some testimonials from NFL legends:

Long-time NFL defensive coach Dom Capers:

“Well, he was certainly one of the best tackles of his era. He had the size and a tremendous amount of athletic ability for that size that made him an outstanding pass protector. He was a guy that as a defensive coordinator, when you went against him, he was so hard to beat that you designed a lot of the pressure to come away from his side.“

Hall of Fame defensive end Michael Strahan:

“What made Lomas a Hall of Fame player is that, first of all, he was an elite pass-blocker – especially in an era with some of the best pass-rushers we have ever seen. On top of that, he was consistent, he was durable, and he was...