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3 Cleveland Browns who should be in the Hall of Fame before Julian Edelman

By Eddie McDonald

FOXBOROUGH, MASSACHUSETTS - JANUARY 04: Julian Edelman #11 of the New England Patriots looks on before the AFC Wild Card Playoff game against the Tennessee Titans at Gillette Stadium on January 04, 2020 in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
FOXBOROUGH, MASSACHUSETTS - JANUARY 04: Julian Edelman #11 of the New England Patriots looks on before the AFC Wild Card Playoff game against the Tennessee Titans at Gillette Stadium on January 04, 2020 in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images) /
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LOS ANGELES, CA: Clay Matthews of the Cleveland Browns circa 1986 against the Los Angeles Raiders at the Coliseum in Los Angeles, California.. (Photo by Owen C, Shaw/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA: Clay Matthews of the Cleveland Browns circa 1986 against the Los Angeles Raiders at the Coliseum in Los Angeles, California.. (Photo by Owen C, Shaw/Getty Images) /

The Cleveland Browns have a total of 17 members in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, the sixth-most of any NFL team.

Earlier this offseason, the New England Patriots released wide receiver Julian Edelman, in what the team calls a failed physical.

That could do it for the career of Edelman, who is recovering from knee surgery last season, limiting him to six games.

With the talk of his career potentially coming to an end, this has initiated discussions of whether or not Edelman is Canton bound. Regardless of which side of that debate you are on, there are three Cleveland Browns who should get the call to the Hall before Edelman.

3. Clay Matthews, Jr.: Linebacker, 1978-1993

In 2021, it seemed that Clay Matthews was finally going to be a Hall of Famer after years of what most fans would consider snubbing. However, that was not the case yet again, despite being a first-time finalist.

This is a complete travesty that Matthews is not enshrined with the best of the best. In 278 career games, 216 spent with the Browns, he racked up 69.5 sacks, 27 forced fumbles, and 1,561 solo tackles. He was a four-time Pro Bowler as well.

To put that in perspective, Brian Urlacher was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2018, despite having fewer sacks, forced fumbles, and tackles than Matthews.

If Urlacher is in the Hall, Matthews should be too, especially before Edelman. It is hard to compare different positions in terms of whether or not they belong in the Hall of Fame, but this isn’t really a comparison of the positions, but more so the overall body of work.

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