Detroit Lions making hard push to get alumni into the Hall of Fame

This week, the NFL announced 128 modern-era players who have been nominated for the 2026 Pro Football Hall of Fame. As it pertains to the Detroit Lions, there are no newly-eligible former Lions on the list, but there are a couple of long-time nominees who are still looking to get in: kicker Jason Hanson and offensive tackle Lomas Brown.

This year, it appears the Lions are trying to make a hard push to get Brown into a gold jacket. On Friday, the team debuted an entire website entitled “The Case for Lomas.” The impressive page features a list of accolades, an essay explaining Brown’s worthiness for the Hall of Fame, and a ton of testimonials from coaches and players arguing his case. That includes a video over four minutes in length of Hall of Famer Barry Sanders making the case for Brown.

“If you look at his body of work over all of those years that he played, you look at his performance against the top defensive tackles, Hall of Fame defensive tackles, you look at where he would’ve been ranked as one of the top offensive tackles during his time, then you definitely can make a strong case for him being in the Hall of Fame,” Sanders said.

Brown played 18 years in the NFL, 11 of which were with the Lions, as their first-round draft pick in 1985. Over the course of his career, Brown was named to seven straight Pro Bowls, two second-team All Pro teams, and one first-team All Pro. He won a Super Bowl in the final year of his career, as a backup for the 2002 Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Some other notable accolades pointed out by the website:

• Brown ranks first in NFL history in games (263) and starts at offensive tackle (251).
• Since 1970, there have been 10 OTs with at least seven Pro Bowls, three All Pros and a Super Bowl ring. Eight have made the Hall of Fame, one is not eligible yet (Trent Williams), and the other is Lomas Brown.
• From 1994 to 2000, Brown only committed a single holding penalty. From 1990-2000, he was called for just three holding penalties.

And here are some testimonials from NFL legends:

Long-time NFL defensive coachDom Capers:

“Well, he was certainly one of the best tackles of his era. He had the size and a tremendous amount of athletic ability for that size that made him an outstanding pass protector. He was a guy that as a defensive coordinator, when you went against him, he was so hard to beat that you designed a lot of the pressure to come away from his side.“

Hall of Fame defensive end Michael Strahan:

“What made Lomas a Hall of Fame player is that, first of all, he was an elite pass-blocker – especially in an era with some of the best pass-rushers we have ever seen. On top of that, he was consistent, he was durable, and he was one of the guys that – when your top guy was on Lomas – he was able to shut him out for that game. Lomas was a guy that presented a problem for even the best pass-rushers in the League.”

Hall of Fame linebacker Mike Singletary:

“He was a big, smooth guy. He had good feet, good hands and he was an athlete. There are a lot of big guys that don’t move really well, but he’s one of the guys that was really blessed with good mobility and agility, and that’s what I remember the most about him.“

Hall of Fame defensive tackle Joe Greene (and Lomas Browns’ assistant coach with the Cardinals):

When I got out to Arizona, I saw him every day in practice, and I confirmed the thoughts that I previously had about him – that he was a special player. He practiced hard and he showed up to work every game, and he always handled the defensive right side, which is his left side, usually against the best pass rushers.

The entire website is really impressive and features testimonials from 27 different people. You can also view all of the information via a PDF here.

The field of 128 nominated players will be reduced to 50 in mid-October. Then the selection committee will cut it down to 25 semifinalists later in the fall. One more vote will cut it down to 15 players before the finalists will be discussed prior to the Super Bowl.

Brown has never made it to the semifinal round.