The voters recently announced the finalists for the NFL's Hall of Fame Class of 2026. One Bears legend was left off the list: Lance Briggs.
This is a damning absence. There's no doubt Briggs deserves to be in Canton. It's easy to see why when you break down his stats, longevity, and the impact he made on the Bears.
Why Briggs should have a spot in the Hall of Fame
Drafted out of Arizona in the third round of the 2003 draft, Briggs had a relatively quiet rookie season and was an underrated player on the Bears. This all changed when Lovie Smith was hired as the Bears' new head coach. A defensive mastermind, Smith would soon turn Briggs into a dynamic playmaker on the defensive front. Briggs turned out to be the perfect off-ball linebacker for Smith's Tampa 2 defensive scheme.
During the prime of Briggs' career, he earned seven Pro Bowl nods and racked up 100 tackles or more from 2004-2009. Briggs rarely missed games and brought a blue-collar mentality to the defense.
For the bulk of his career, Briggs teamed up with Hall of Famer Brian Urlacher to form the best linebacker tandem in the league. Together, along with cornerback Charles Tillman, they formed a big three that turned the Bears into one of the most formidable defenses of the 2000s. If you were a wide receiver, the Bears were the last team you'd want to run a slant against. And Briggs is a huge reason why.
In 2005, the Bears ranked No. 1 in the league in terms of points allowed. They led the league in this statistic again in 2006 as the Bears' defense carried them to the Super Bowl, where they would lose to Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts. In 2010, the Bears' defense finished No. 4 in points allowed yet again, leading the way for a deep playoff run that ended with a heartbreaking loss to the Green Bay Packers in the NFC Championship game.
Urlacher, during his Hall of Fame speech in 2018, gave Briggs a shoutout for his contributions to all those feared defenses.
"He elevated not only my game but the entire defense -- his enthusiasm was contagious," Urlacher said. "We'll be back here in a couple years for your induction, Big Time.'"
While Briggs most definitely deserves to be in the Hall of Fame, he might have to wait a very long time before he gets in. For the 2026 Class, the finalists at linebacker are London Fletcher, James Harrison, Luke Kuechly, and Terrell Suggs. That's a loaded group of linebackers. Kuechly, Suggs, and Harrison have each won the AP Defensive Player of the Year award, and Fletcher's stats beat Briggs. When these players are inducted, there is a real chance Briggs will be considered.
One criticism of the Briggs case for Canton is that he was often the "Robin" to Urlacher's "Batman." This argument lacks weight. Also, in a Tampa 2 defense, the linebacker is the most important position on the field. Without Briggs, those defenses from the mid-2000s are not the same.
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If Briggs is enshrined in Canton, he will join Bears linebackers Urlacher, Mike Singletary, and Dick Butkus in Canton.