Pats Pulpit
After previously announcing for the coach and contributor categories, the Pro Football Hall of Fame has unveiled another batch of nominees to advance to the next round of voting. The senior group was trimmed from previously 34 to nine players left.
Among them is former New England Patriots wide receiver Stanley Morgan.
A first-round draft pick by the Patriots in 1977, Morgan spent the first 13 years of his career in New England. Appearing in 180 regular season games and seven playoff contests for the team, he caught a combined 552 passes for 10,654 yards and 70 touchdowns. One of the best deep threats in league history, he led the NFL in yards per reception three times and in receiving touchdowns once.
His regular season receiving yardage of 10,352 is a franchise record that stands to this day. In addition, among NFL receivers with at least 500 catches, nobody has a higher yards per reception average than his 19.2.
During his career, which ended with a one-year stint in Indianapolis, Morgan was voted to four Pro Bowls and twice recognized as a second-team All-Pro. He also is part of the Patriots’ All-Decade Teams for the 1970s and 1980s, as well as a member of the franchise’s 50th Anniversary Team and the Patriots Hall of Fame.
Despite his accolades, Morgan has been overlooked by Pro Football Hall of Fame voters so far. He made it to the semifinal round in each of the last two years, but did not advance any further.
Joining him among this year’s semifinalists is another ex-Patriots receiver, Henry Ellard. As opposed to Morgan, however, Ellard’s stint in New England is merely a footnote in his career. After spending the first 15 years of his career in Los Angeles and Washington, he joined the organization in 1998 but caught just five passes for 86 yards in five games.
Previously emerging to the semifinal round were longtime New England head coach Bill Belichick as well as former executive Francis “Bucko” Kilroy and team owner Robert Kraft. The modern era semifinalists will be announced on Tuesday, Nov. 25, with nine ex-Patriots still in the running.
In a subsequent step, the remaining candidates will be trimmed down to a group of finalists in early December. In February, between four and eight of those finalists will be chosen for induction as members of the 2026 Pro Football Hall of Fame class.
