Stanley Morgan continues to make progress in Pro Football Hall of Fame voting

The Pro Football Hall of Fame campaign for longtime New England Patriots wide receiver Stanley Morgan continues. On Wednesday morning the Hall of Fame announced nine individuals have advanced to the next round of voting for the Seniors committee - including Morgan.

This specific committee is meant to give second chances to players who did not initially get voted in when on the Modern Era ballot. The Seniors Committee considers players who last appeared in an NFL game before the year 2000.

That includes Morgan, who spent the first 13 of his 14 NFL seasons in New England after the Patriots drafted him in the first round out of Tennessee in 1977. In total, he caught caught 557 passes for 10,716 yards and 72 touchdowns.

One of the premier deep threats in the history of the league, Morgan's career 19.2 yards per catch is the most in NFL history among players with at least 500 career receptions. The next three-closest players are all already in the Hall of Fame.

The next step in the voting is a big one. The Seniors Committee will meet next week and narrow this list of nine semifinalists down to three. Other semifinalists up for consideration are Ken Anderson, Roger Craig, Henry Ellard, L.C. Greenwood, Joe Jacoby, Eddie Meador, Steve Tasker and Otis Taylor.

Those three players will then go on the final ballot along with 15 Modern-Era finalists, plus one finalist each from the Coaches Committee and Contributors Committee. From there there's one final vote, with between four and eight individuals being chosen as the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2026, which is announced the week leading up to the Super Bowl.

The Patriots are represented in each of those other committees as well. Bill Belichick is on the ballot for the Coaches Committee, owner Robert Kraft is on the ballot for the Contributors Committee, and nine players are up on the next round of Modern-Era voting. Updates on those votes are also expected soon.