ASU legends Terrell Suggs, Darren Woodson snubbed from Pro Football Hall of Fame again

Arizona State fans will have to wait another year to see a Sun Devil alum inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The 2026 class was revealed at Thursday's NFL Honors but finalists Terrell Suggs and Darren Woodson were not among the five inductees.

Quarterback Drew Brees, running back Roger Craig, wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald, linebacker Luke Kuechly and kicker Adam Vinatieri will receive their bronze busts in Canton, Ohio later this summer ahead of the 2026-27 NFL preseason.

Suggs and Woodson were both named finalists for the second and fourth time, respectively, in their post-careers. The pair were also snubbed from induction as finalists in 2025 but former Sun Devil cornerback Eric Allen was among the four-member class.

What's it going to take for Terrell Suggs and Darren Woodson to be named Hall of Famers?

Allen was ASU's sixth Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee. Suggs and Woodson appear to be on track to make it eight someday but they'll have to compete with some strong first-time eligible candidates in 2027.

Those challengers include 2012 MVP, seven-time Pro Bowler and four-time All-Pro running back Adrian Peterson, two-time Super Bowl champion quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, and four-time Super Bowl champion tight end Rob Gronkowski (University of Arizona alum).

Suggs (2000-02) still owns the career and single-season school records for most tackles-for-a-loss, and set the NCAA record for most sacks in a season with 24 in 2002. He went on to be selected 10th overall by the Baltimore Ravens in 2003 where he earned Defensive Player of the Year honors in 2011 and then won Super Bowl XLVII the following season. He also lifted his second Lombardi Trophy as a member of the Kansas City Chiefs in 2020.

Woodson (1988-91) was a walk-on in Tempe his freshman year but he quickly impressed, becoming a team captain in his senior year. After being selected in the second round of the 1992 draft by the Dallas Cowboys, Woodson won three Super Bowl titles with "America's Team." He was a five-time Pro Bowler and earned first-team All-Pro honors three consecutive seasons (1994-96).

On top of a rather stacked selection of first-time eligible players, Hall of Fame voters will have to consider other names that joined Suggs and Woodson as repeat finalists but ultimaterly were also left out. That includes two-time Super Bowl MVP quarterback Eli Manning, tight end Jason Witten, and running back Frank Gore.

Suggs will automatically be a finalist in 2027 because he advanced to the final round of cutdowns this season. Woodson, who was in his 18th year of eligibility as a modern-era candidate this year, has just two years remaining in his 20-year window before he's moved to the often times more competitive senior category.