DALLAS — The Dallas Cowboys’ all-time leading tackler, former safety Darren Woodson, has missed out again on the Pro Football Hall of Fame for the third consecutive year after being selected as a finalist.
Instead, the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2025 included:
- Eric Allen
- Jared Allen
- Antonio Gates
- Sterling Sharpe
Each year, more than 100 potential candidates are whittled down to 25 semifinalists, then 15 finalists. That finalist list of 15 players is reduced by the Pro Football Hall of Fame Selection Committee to 10 players and then once again to five. Those five are then voted on by the 50-person committee, needing 80% “yes” votes to be enshrined. Coach/Contributor and Senior Finalists are also voted on for election independent of all other finalists. Like all nominees, Coach/Contributor and Seniors Nominees must receive 80% approval for election.
Woodson has been announced as a round of 15 finalists three years in a row. And for the third straight year, he missed the cut. The 2024 class included Dwight Freeney, Devin Hester, Andre Johnson, Julius Peppers and Patrick Willis.
“I gotta deal with it,” Woodson said on the Dallas Cowboys website. “I mean, it just is what it is, man. It sucks, I wish I could walk in and grab that gold jacket, it’s painful man, it really is.”
Woodson played 12 seasons and is the Cowboys’ all-time leading tackler with 1,350. He was a five-time Pro Bowler, a three-time All-Pro and helped lead Dallas to its three Super Bowls in the 90s. This year was Woodson’s 17th year of eligibility.
The familiar feeling of disappointment has left the Cowboys’ Ring of Honor member mulling on the past and thinking of many “what if” scenarios.
“I had plenty of opportunities when I was playing to take it out of the writer’s hands and to control the narrative as far as my play,” Woodson said. “And not only that, but having conversations with my position coaches to play one position instead of three positions. I found have controlled that narrative.”