Seven men will be formally inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame on August 3 in Canton, Ohio. Yahoo Sports will take a relatively brief look at each legend and how they achieved football immortality.
Patrick Willis | Randy Gradishar | Steve McMichael | André Johnson
In a sport that values physicality and brutality, Dwight Freeney used his speed and finesse as a defensive end to disrupt opposing offenses for more than 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 forever recognized in Canton.
“You try to prepare yourself for it — the emotions and what you’re going to feel — and you think if you’ve had a pretty good career, you’ve got a good shot at getting there,” Freeney said. “… When you get that hit, you’re really overwhelmed with emotion and you feel gratitude and appreciation for everyone who got there.”
During his NFL career, Freeney was a seven-time Pro Bowler and was 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, fellow 2024 enshrinee Julius Pepper and more.
And it was Freeney’s patented spin move when attacking the quarterback that not only helped him overwhelm the competition, but also became a pioneer for modern pass rushers, who weren’t always the biggest and strongest.
“Everybody always said I was too small. Too small to play that position. He can’t see past the offensive tackle, he can’t see the quarterback. But because I’m a couple inches shorter, you have natural leverage,” Freeney said of his playing style. “I was really one of the first guys to focus on speed, quickness and getting to the ball.”
It was during Freeney’s high school years that he developed the spin move. He credits the And1 Mixtapes of the 1990s and 2000s for helping create his patented technique.
“What I wanted to do was kind of [And1] in the game of football and I wanted to see how I could make this offensive tackle look absolutely foolish and ridiculous. I wanted him to fall down, break his ankles, etc., just like they do on the basketball court,” Freeney said on the podcast “RG3 and The Ones.”
While working on basketball-like moves on the football field, Freeney stumbled upon the spin move. When he tried it in a game, the offensive tackle fell to the ground and he “knew” he “found something there.”
Freeney’s high school performance eventually earned him a football scholarship to Syracuse, where he was named an All-American and Big East Defensive Player of the Year, with a school-record 17.5 sacks in his senior season, which also ranked him top in the nation.
His elite athleticism and speed caught the attention of the Colts. Despite questions about Freeney’s size for the position at just 6-foot-1, he was selected with the 11th overall pick in the 2002 NFL Draft.
Freeney made an immediate impact as a rookie, recording a Colts rookie record 13 sacks and leading the NFL with nine forced fumbles and 20 tackles for loss.
In his sophomore 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 in his first four years as a pro. Only five players in NFL history have had more in the same span.
That wasn’t the only history Freeney made. His 47 forced fumbles are the fifth-most in NFL history. Similarly, his nine forced fumbles in his rookie campaign were an NFL record at the time.
In 22 postseason games, he totaled 11 sacks (tied for sixth all-time) and six tackles for loss. Even after helping the Colts secure their Super Bowl XLI victory, Freeney remained a powerhouse, 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 sustaining an ankle injury in the AFC championship game.
Following his senior 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 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 signature spin moves,” said Colts team owner and CEO Jim Irsay. “He provided Colts fans with many thrilling moments as one of the greatest pro football players of all time, and he truly deserves this honor.”
