CANTON, Ohio — Former Cincinnati Bengals players Ken Anderson, Isaac Curtis and Lemar Parrish have advanced in the voting process for the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Class of 2026 in the Seniors category.
The Bengals greats are among 34 candidates being considered for election to the hall. The players advanced Thursday after a second reduction vote of candidates in the Seniors category.
The next step in the voting process is to reduce the list of players to nine semifinalists. Those results will be announced in about four weeks.
Anderson is one of three quarterbacks in consideration. Curtis is one of seven wide receivers/tight ends. Parrish is one of six defensive backs.
He played all 16 years of his career for the Bengals from 1971 to 1986, was the NFL MVP in 1981 and led Cincinnati to its first Super Bowl appearance in 1982.
Anderson was inducted into the Bengals Ring of Honor in September 2021.
Curtis, a 2022 Bengals Ring of Honor inductee, played with the Bengals from 1973 to 1984. He was a four-time Pro Bowl selection.
Parrish was elected to the Bengals Ring of Honor this past July and will be inducted Sunday as Cincinnati plays host to the New York Jets. The eight-time Pro Bowl selection played with the Bengals from 1970 to 1977.
Members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Seniors Blue-Ribbon Committee produced the list from the 52 names they had received after a screening committee cast the initial ballots. Each of the 162 former players nominated for election and screened in the opening round of voting last could have appeared in a professional football game in the 2000 season.
The players — 19 offensive, 14 defensive and one special teamer — who remain in contention for the Class of 2026 in the Seniors category are:
QUARTERBACKS (3): Ken Anderson, Charlie Conerly, Roman Gabriel.
RUNNING BACKS (4): Roger Craig, Chuck Foreman, Cecil Isbell, Paul “Tank” Younger.
WIDE RECEIVERS/TIGHT ENDS (7): Isaac Curtis, Lavvie Dilweg, Henry Ellard, Harold Jackson, Stanley Morgan, Art Powell, Otis Taylor.
OFFENSIVE LINEMEN (5): Joe Jacoby, Mike Kenn, Bob Kuechenberg, Jim Tyrer, Al Wistert.
DEFENSIVE LINEMEN (2): L.C. Greenwood, Jim Marshall.
LINEBACKERS (6): Carl Banks, Maxie Baughan, Larry Grantham, Lee Roy Jordan, Clay Matthews Jr., Tommy Nobis.
DEFENSIVE BACKS (6): Dick Anderson, Bobby Boyd, Albert Lewis, Eddie Meador, Lemar Parrish, Everson Walls.
SPECIAL TEAMS (1): Steve Tasker.
The Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Class of 2026, which can be composed of a minimum of four individuals to as many as eight, will be enshrined next August in Canton.
Former Bengals offensive tackle Willie Anderson and former Carolina Panthers linebacker Luke Kuechly, a 2009 St. Xavier graduate, are among finalists in the Modern-Era category.
