3 Biggest Raiders Hall of Fame Snubs in Team History
By Nick Porr
The Las Vegas Raiders are new to Nevada, but not to the NFL. The franchise has been in the league ever since the NFL-AFL merger in 1970, and it's one of the more successful ones in NFL history.
Plenty of Hall of Famers have gifted Raiders fanatics with years of incredible play, from Tim Brown to Howie Long. However, it's a travesty that three players aren't in the hall with them.
3. Rich Gannon
Rich Gannon spent most of his career as a second-string quarterback, playing for the Minnesota Vikings, Washington Redskins, and Kansas City Chiefs. But he experienced a resurgence when he joined the Oakland Raiders in 1999. In six years with the Raiders, Gannon made four Pro Bowls, won the 2002 MVP, brought the Raiders to the Super Bowl the same season, and was voted an All-Pro (First Team) twice. His stint in Oakland landed him third on the Raiders career passing yards list with 17,585.
2. Steve Wisniewski
Wisniewski should be enshrined alongside fellow Raiders offensive linemen Jim Otto and Gene Upshaw in the Hall of Fame. In his 13 seasons from 1989-2001 in Oakland and Los Angeles, Wisniewski made the Pro-Bowl eight times. The Hall has continued to overlook his premier play at the NFL's most underappreciated position. He was a two-time First-Team All-Pro and missed just TWO games across his entire career, starting 16 games in 11 seasons and 15 the other two. How is that not a HoF career?
1. Cliff Branch
During the Raiders’ Super Bowl runs in 1976, 1980 and 1983, the speedy Cliff Branch lined up at receiver. A key part of their first stint in Oakland, Branch totaled 8,685 career yards, which is good for third on the Raiders all-time list. Branch earned those yards at an extremely impressive rate, with a career average of 17.3 yards per reception. This four-time Pro-Bowler and three-time All-Pro should've been inducted into the Hall a long ago.