Fittingly, Lomas Brown was at a turkey giveaway on Tuesday morning when he got the call that he is a semifinalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
“I was just flabbergasted,’’ Brown said at a press conference on Tuesday. “I didn’t have words at that point. I’m still kind of short of words to say what this means to me.’’
Brown, an offensive tackle for the Lions from 1985-1995, said he is thankful for the chance to get in the Hall and to all those who have helped him including the Lions media relations staff and the Lions organizaion. After an 18-year NFL career, he retired from the Buccaneers in 2002 and has been eligible for the Hall since 2007.
“I’m just thankful today to be able to get to a point I’ve never gotten in the Hall of Fame selection. I’m just thankful,’’ Brown said.
The seven-time Pro Bowler was drafted by Detroit in 1985, stayed for 11 years and then went on to play for the Cardinals, the Browns, the Giants and the Buccaneers where he was on the 2002 team that won the Super Bowl.
He was teammates with coach Dan Campbell on the Giants in 2001-2002.
“Unbelievable teammate, always upbeat, never a bad day, willing to do whatever for a teammate and just a helluva player, a productive player,’’ said Campbell who played tight end. “You talk about reliability, dependability, that was him.’’
At the time Brown didn’t see Campbell as a potential NFL coach, but he did see something in him.
“I was in my 15th year, he was in his second when I got to New York. You couldn’t say he was going to be a great coach but there was something different about that dude,’’ Brown said.
Brown remains engaged with the Lions as part of the radio broadcast team. He’s also involved in charity work in the community which started when he was drafted in 1985.
“As an offensive lineman you’ve always — there’s something about you where you want to protect people — make sure everyone is having success,’’ Brown said. “And I think for me when I first got here in ‘85 my thing was instead of making a big impact on the field I thought about making a big impact off the field. It thrust me into the community and you guys live here, this is a great community. We know there’ s a lot of need out there. They say to those who much is given, much is expected. I kind of took that moniker.’’
The next step in the Pro Football Hall of Fame process is to narrow the field from the 26 semifinalists to 15 which is expected by the end of the year.
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