Steelers Now
Eight former members of the Pittsburgh Steelers have been nominated for the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2026, the NFL announced on Wednesday.
Kicker Gary Anderson, guard David DeCastro, inside linebacker James Farrior, outside linebacker James Harrison, strong safety Carnell Lake, center Maurkice Pouncey, cornerback/kick returner Allen Rossum and wide receiver Hines Ward were all among the 128 players nominated.
DeCastro and Pouncey were both nominated in their first season of eligibility. Harrison and Ward were both semifinalists for the Class of 2025, Harrison for the second time and Ward for the ninth time. Anderson, Farrior and Rossum were both nominated in 2025, but did not advance in the process. Lake was nominated in 2024, but not last year.
Nose tackle Casey Hampton, fullback John Kuhn and outside linebacker Mike Vrabel were nominated in 2025, but are not nominated this year.
All eight Steelers Pro Football Hall of Fame nominees were also nominated for the Class of 2024. Three players — safety Carnell Lake, inside linebacker Hardy Nickerson, Sr. and outside linebacker Joey Porter, Sr. — were all nominated for last year’s class, but were not nominated for this coming class.
Harrison and Ward were among the 25 semifinalists last year. Ward has been a semifinalist for nine consecutive years, but has never advanced beyond that stage in the voting process. Harrison is eligible for a fourth time, and has been a semifinalist twice.
Anderson spent 13 seasons kicking with the Steelers from 1982-94 and is the team’s all-time leading scorer with 1,343 points. He’s the only Pittsburgh player to score more than 1,000 career points and is also the team’s leader in career field goals made (309) and points after touchdown (416). He was a four-time Pro Bowler and a three-time All-Pro member of the NFL’s 1980s and 1990s All-Decade Teams.
Pouncey was the Steelers’ first-round pick in the 2010 NFL Draft and spent all 11 seasons of his NFL career in Pittsburgh. A day-one starter, Pouncey started all 134 games in his career, and was a five-time All-Pro and nine-time Pro Bowler. He was named to the NFL 2010s All-Decade Team and was named to the Steelers Hall of Honor in 2025.
DeCastro played next to Pouncey for his entire career, joining the Steelers offensive line as a first-round pick in the 2012 NFL Draft out of Stanford. He started 124 games over nine pro seasons — all with the Steelers. DeCastro was a three-time All-Pro and a six-time Pro Bowl selection during his career.
Drafted in the first round by the New York Jets in 1997, Farrior he played five seasons in New York before joining the Steelers in 2002. Since then, Farrior has gone down as one of the top free-agent signings in Steelers franchise history. He won two Super Bowls as the Steelers’ starting three-down inside linebacker, and was a two-time All-Pro in 2004 and 2008.
Harrison is one of the team’s most legendary outside linebackers. Originally joining the team as an undrafted...
