Bloomfield Legend Dwight Freeney Is Pro Football Hall Of Fame Finalist

BLOOMFIELD, CT — Dwight Freeney, a Connecticut football legend who earned a high school state championship, All-American honors in college and won a Super Bowl, has been named a finalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2023.

The Bloomfield High School and Syracuse University graduate is one of three players to earn finalist spots on this year's ballot in their first year of eligibility, joining New York Jets defensive back Darrelle Revis and Cleveland Browns offensive lineman Joe Thomas. Players must be retired for five years before becoming eligible for consideration.

Freeney, who will turn 43 next month, joined the Bloomfield football team as a sophomore, after playing soccer in his freshman year. He quickly established himself as a top-flight defensive lineman, recording 60 sacks in three years, including 26 as a senior in 1997. His career total is currently second in state history, according to the Connecticut High School Football Record Book.

During his tenure, the Warhawks finished as Class S runner-up in 1995 and 1996, finally breaking through with a 39-21 victory over Darien in the 1997 Class S finals. Bloomfield finished that year with a perfect 12-0 record, and Freeney's jersey number 44 was eventually retired by the school.

His next stop was Syracuse University, where he currently ranks second in career sacks with 34. As a junior, he had a career game on Oct. 21, 2000 against Virginia Tech, sacking future NFL star Michael Vick 4.5 times.

"He had no chance," Freeney told the Pro Football Talk podcast in 2019. "And what I mean by that is, I was so fast — I don’t know what was going on with me that game, but I was so quick off the ball, the offensive tackle was barely out of his stance and I was by him. So there really wasn’t a chance for Mike to use his speed. So I kind of got him before he got started. There was nothing he could have done. The Carrier Dome noise, something was going on with me that day, where I was just unblockable. That’s probably one of my most favorite games that I played in."

He recorded at least one sack in 17 consecutive games with the Orangemen, and finished his senior year with a school single-season record of 17.5. He was a unanimous first-team All-American selection in 2001, and was drafted with the 11th overall pick by the Indianapolis Colts.

Freeney set an NFL rookie record with nine forced fumbles in 2002, including three in one game against Philadelphia Eagles star quarterback Donovan McNabb. He placed second to Julius Peppers of the Carolina Panthers in voting for the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year award.

He led the NFL with 16 sacks in 2004, and reached the pinnacle of his career on Feb. 4, 2007 in Miami, Florida. In front of more than 74,000 fans and a worldwide television audience of over 140 million viewers, the Colts defeated the Chicago Bears 29-17 to win Super Bowl XLI, perhaps best remembered by a mind-blowing halftime performance by music icon Prince in a driving rainstorm. Freeney recovered a fumble in the first quarter of the game.

In 2012, Freeney was converted from defensive end to outside linebacker, and began bouncing around the league. He played for the San Diego Chargers for two years and the Arizona Cardinals in 2015, before joining the Atlanta Falcons for the 2016 season.

The Falcons won the NFC South Division title and crushed the Green Bay Packers 44–21 in the NFC championship game, earning a spot in what turned out to be an historic game: Super Bowl LI.

Facing the New England Patriots, Atlanta jumped to a 28-3 lead by the midpoint of the third quarter, with Freeney contributing a sack of Tom Brady to the defensive effort. Just as it appeared the Falcons would win their first NFL championship, the Patriots began the largest comeback in Super Bowl history, rallying to tie the game at 28-28 and forcing the first-ever Super Bowl overtime period. A 2-yard touchdown run by James White just under four minutes into the extra session shattered the Falcons', and Freeney's, dreams.

'That’s the one Super Bowl that will haunt me forever, absolutely forever," Freeney said in a 2019 interview with theathletic.com. "Thank God I won one, right? After that game, it was hard for me to eat, drink. … I didn’t know what to do with myself. I was thinking, 'Maybe if we win this Super Bowl, I’ll retire on top.' Nope. It didn’t happen."

Just two and a half months after that devastating loss, Freeney was back in Connecticut, graciously accepting one of the state's most prestigious athletic honors at the 76th Gold Key Dinner.

"When I got notified of this award, I didn't realize the significance of it until my mother texted me a list of the previous recipients," he told a crowd of several hundred admirers during his acceptance speech. "When I saw the names ... Floyd Little? That’s one of the reasons I went to Syracuse. George Bush. The President? I knew this was a big deal."

He signed as a free agent with the Seattle Seahawks for the 2017 campaign, then was claimed on waivers by the Detroit Lions. He retired following that season after 16 years in the league, amassing 125.5 sacks, good for 18th on the all-time NFL list, and 47 forced fumbles in 218 games.

Among his numerous accolades are inclusion on the NFL 2000s All-Decade Team, seven Pro Bowls, three-time NFL All-Pro first team and induction into the Indianapolis Colts Ring of Honor in 2019.

He now has a chance to join Little, Andy Robustelli and Ken Strong as the only Connecticut natives to earn a spot in the sport's ultimate shrine. The Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2023 will be announced Feb. 9 at 9 p.m.