Troy Polamalu is one vote away from making the Pro Football Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility.
The former Pittsburgh Steelers safety was among 15 players named a finalist for the Hall of Fame on Thursday.
Polamalu spent 12 seasons with the Steelers, making the Pro Bowl eight times. He was named first-team All-Pro four times and was the 2010 NFL defensive player of the year.
Former Steelers guard Alan Faneca was named a finalist for the fourth year in a row. However, former Steelers wide receiver Hines Ward did not advance beyond the semifinals for the fifth consecutive year.
The finalists will be presented to the 48-member selection committee on Feb. 1, 2020, the day before Super Bowl LIV. Five players from the list of finalists will be selected.
Faneca was named to the Pro Bowl nine times and was a first-team All-Pro selection six times in his 13-year career, the first 10 of which he spent with the Steelers.
Polamalu is one of four safeties among the finalists, joining John Lynch, Steve Atwater and LeRoy Butler.
The other finalists are running back Edgerrin James, linebackers Zach Thomas and Sam Mills, defensive tackle Bryant Young, defensive end/tackle Richard Seymour, wide receivers Reggie Wayne, Torry Holt and Isaac Bruce, and offensive linemen Tony Boselli, Steve Hutchinson and Faneca.
