Former Cincinnati Bengals greats Ken Riley and Ken Anderson were considered for nomination Tuesday as the Pro Football Hall of Fame's senior candidate for its upcoming Class of 2022, but former Raiders receiver Cliff Branch instead was nominated.
The Pro Football Hall nominated three candidates for the class - one senior, one contributor and one head coach - to be voted on by the Hall's board of selectors in January.
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Last month, Riley and Anderson were added to the Bengals' inaugural Ring of Honor class. They were teammates in Cincinnati from 1971 to 1983.
A star defensive back for Cincinnati for 15 seasons, Riley's 65 career interceptions ranked fourth in NFL history at the time of his retirement. Riley died in June 2020.
In February, the Bengals' official Twitter account shared that the team was "extremely disappointed" that Riley wasn't included in the "In Memoriam" segment during the NFL Honors awards presentation by the league.
Anderson, the only quarterback with four NFL passing titles without a bust in Canton, finished his career with 32,838 passing yards, 197 touchdowns, 160 interceptions and an 81.9 passer rating in 192 games. He's been a Hall of Fame finalist twice.
Anthony Muñoz, widely considered among the best offensive linemen in league history, is the only Pro Football Hall of Famer to have played his entire career with the Bengals. Muñoz has publicly lobbied for both Riley and Anderson - his teammates in Cincinnati from 1980 to 1983 - to join him in Canton.
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