Seven men will be formally enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Saturday in Canton, Ohio. Yahoo Sports will take a relatively short look at each legend and how he reached football immortality.
Patrick Willis | Randy Gradishar | Steve McMichael | Andre Johnson
In a sport where physicality and brute force are celebrated, Dwight Freeney used speed and finesse at defensive end to disrupt offenses for over a decade.
Freeney was announced as a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Class of 2024 in his second year of eligibility. His dominance in both his collegiate career at Syracuse and his professional career, most notably with the Indianapolis Colts, will be recognized forever in Canton.
“You try to prepare for it — the emotions and what you’re gonna feel — and you think if you had a pretty good career you have a good opportunity and chance to get there,” Freeney said. “… When you actually get that knock, you’re really flushed with emotion, and you feel a gratitude and appreciation for all those who have been able to get there.”
During his NFL career, Freeney was a seven-time Pro-Bowler and named first-team All-Pro three times. He was also a key member of the 2006 Colts team that won Super Bowl XLI against the Chicago Bears. The defensive end was so dominant that he was named to the NFL’s All-Decade Team of the 2000s alongside other defensive greats such as Michael Strahan, Ray Lewis, and fellow 2024 enshrinee Julius Pepper.
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And it was Freeney’s patented spin move when rushing the quarterback that helped him not only overwhelm the competition, but also become a trailblazer for the more modern pass rushers who weren’t always the biggest and strongest.
“Everyone always said I was undersized. Too small to play the position. He can’t see past the offensive tackle, he won’t be able to see the quarterback. But being a couple inches shorter, it gives you a natural leverage,” Freeney said of his play style. “I was really one of the first guys predicated on speed, quickness and getting to the ball.”
It was during Freeney’s high school years when he developed the spin move. He credits the And1 Mixtapes of the 1990s and 2000s for helping him create his technique.
“What I wanted to do was bring a little bit of [And1] into the game of football and I wanted to see how I can make this offensive tackle look absolutely silly, ridiculous. I wanted him to fall, break his ankles, etc., just like how they do on the basketball court,” Freeney said on the “RG3 and The Ones” podcast.
When working on basketball-like moves on the football field, Freeney stumbled upon the spin move. Once he tried it in a game, it made the offensive tackle fall down and that’s when he “found something there.”
Freeney’s exploits in high school eventually landed him a football scholarship at Syracuse, where he was named an All-American and Big East Defensive Player of the Year, with a school-record 17.5 sacks his senior season that also led the country.
His elite-level athleticism as well as his speed caught the attention of the Colts. Despite questions about Freeney’s size for the position at only 6-foot-1, he was selected with the 11th overall pick in the 2002 NFL Draft.
Freeney made an immediate impact as a rookie. He recorded a Colts rookie record 13 sacks and led the NFL with nine forced fumbles and 20 tackles for a loss.
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In his second year, Freeney took his game to new heights, earning his first Pro Bowl appearance and recording a three-sack game against the Miami Dolphins.
“It felt like no one could block me,” Freeney said of the performance.
Freeney was named first-team All-Pro the following two seasons, and finished with 51 sacks his first four years as a pro. Only five players in NFL history recorded more in the same time span.
That wasn’t the only history that Freeney made. His 47 forced fumbles are fifth in NFL history. In the same vein, his nine forced fumbles in his rookie campaign was an NFL record at the time.
Over 22 postseason games, he totaled 11 sacks (tied for sixth all-time) and six tackles for loss. Even after helping lead the Colts to their Super Bowl XLI win, Freeney continued to be a force, earning Pro-Bowl nods from 2008 to 2011 and recording double-digit sacks in three of those seasons. He had two sacks in Super Bowl XLIV, a loss to the New Orleans Saints, despite suffering an ankle injury in the AFC championship game.
After his final year with the Colts in 2012, Freeney spent time with the then-San Diego Chargers, Arizona Cardinals, Atlanta Falcons (with whom he appeared in another Super Bowl), Seattle Seahawks and Detroit Lions. He totaled 18 sacks, three forced fumbles, 36 quarterback hits and 15 tackles for a loss between the ages of 33 and 37.
Freeney retired in 2018 and was inducted into the Colts’ Ring of Honor in 2019.
“Dwight built himself into one of the game’s most feared pass rushers with his trademark spin moves,” Colts team owner and CEO Jim Irsay said. “He provided Colts fans with many thrilling moments as one of pro football’s all-time greats, and he truly deserves this honor.”
