Cris Carter Named Pro Football Hall Of Fame Finalist

Former Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Cris Carter was one of 15 modern-era NFL players that made the list of finalists for the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2013. The list was released just a little bit ago.

This is the sixth consecutive season that Carter has been named to the list of finalists. Obviously. . .and inexplicably. . .he has been denied enshrinement the first five times he made the list. Maybe the sixth time will be the charm.

The Hall of Fame Class of 2013 will be named the day before Super Bowl XLVII, February 2, 2013. Carter is the only player with significant ties to the Vikings on this year's list of finalists. The list looks like this:

Larry Allen - Dallas Cowboys, San Francisco 49ers
Jerome Bettis - Los Angeles/St. Louis Rams, Pittsburgh Steelers
Tim Brown - Los Angeles/Oakland Raiders, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Cris Carter - Philadelphia Eagles, Minnesota Vikings, Miami Dolphins
Ed DeBartolo, Jr. - San Francisco 49ers
Kevin Greene - Los Angeles Rams, Pittsburgh Steelers, Carolina Panthers, San Francisco 49ers
Charles Haley - San Francisco 49ers, Dallas Cowboys
Art Modell - Cleveland Browns, Baltimore Ravens
Jonathan Ogden - Baltimore Ravens
Bill Parcells - New York Giants, New England Patriots, New York Jets, Dallas Cowboys
Andre Reed - Buffalo Bills, Washington Redskins
Warren Sapp - Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Oakland Raiders
Will Shields - Kansas City Chiefs
Michael Strahan - New York Giants
Aeneas Williams - Phoenix/Arizona Cardinals, St. Louis Rams

The Veterans' Committee also added former Kansas City Chiefs/Houston Oilers/Detroit Lions defensive tackle Curley Culp and former Green Bay Packers/Washington Redskins linebacker Dave Robinson.

It looks like Carter might have some tough sledding in this one. . .the two Veterans' Committee candidates will likely get in. Of the five other potential spots, Bettis, Strahan, Ogden, Shields, and Sapp are all worthy candidates. Carter might get caught up in the numbers game as he, Brown, and Reed steal votes from each other like they have the last couple of years.

I'm to the point where I don't think I'll even be surprised if Cris Carter doesn't get in this year. He should have been in a long time ago.