5 Chicago Bears with cases to make the Hall of Fame
By Evan Bruner
Chicago Bears HOF Candidate No. 5: Olin Kreutz
Olin Kreutz could be higher on this list, but since he’s been retired since 2012 and eligible for the Hall of Fame since 2017, his induction seems less probable than some of the newer candidates.
The 2006 Chicago Bears was the closest thing we’ve seen to a 21st-century equivalent of the legendary Super Bowl Champion 1985 Bears. For fans who were too young to watch the original, the 2006 team was the peak of Bears fandom.
What the team lacked in flash they more than made up for with toughness and grit. Olin Kreutz perfectly exemplifies this. The center was a pillar of consistency throughout the early to mid-2000s making six consecutive Pro Bowls as well as being named first-team All-Pro in 2006.
Another impressive aspect of Kreutz’s tenure with the team was his durability. From 2001 to his final season in Chicago in 2010, he missed a total of one start.
Kreutz's play didn’t go unnoticed either, as he was named to the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s All-Decade team for the 2000s. It is worth noting that Kreutz is currently the only offensive lineman from that team not in the Hall of Fame.
Verdict: The results from Kreutz’s first few years on the ballot are discouraging, but whether or not he eventually makes it in doesn’t change the merit of his claim.