The Carolina Panthers are expanding their Hall of Honor. The team released a teaser that showed owner David Tepper notifying one of the inductees of the expansion. While the face was not shown, many took to social media to take a guess at who the voice belonged to.
On Monday, the Panthers announced that the team would be inducting four players – quarterback Jake Delhomme, offensive tackle Jordan Gross, wide receiver Steve Smith Sr., and tight end Wesley Walls – into the team’s Hall of Honor.
“This is long overdue,” Tepper said. “We have a great class for this year’s Hall of Honor induction, and I couldn’t be more excited about these four players. The thing I love most about this class is each one of them made a tremendous impact on the field, but they’ve also done incredible work off the field. They are extremely deserving of this honor.”
This class will be the first additions to the Hall since 2004 when the Panthers inducted PSL, or Permanent Seat License, holders. Other inductees are former team president Mike McCormack (1997) and linebacker Sam Mills (1998).
Carolina Panthers Class of 2019 Hall of Honor Inductees
Jake Delhomme – Quarterback
• Played in 91 games with 90 starts from 2003-2009.
• Compiled a 53-37 (.589) record as the Panthers starting quarterback, including a 23-11 (.676) mark versus the NFC South.
• Ranks second in team history with 2,669 pass attempts, 1,580 completions, 19,258 passing yards, 120 touchdown passes and 11 300-yard passing games.
• Directed Panthers to the NFC Championship and Super Bowl XXXVIII in 2003, engineering seven drives during the regular season where Carolina scored the game-winning points in the final two minutes of regulation or overtime.
• Led Panthers to the NFC Championship in 2005 and NFC South title in 2008.
• Selected to the Pro Bowl following the 2005 season.
Jordan Gross – Offensive Tackle
• Played in 167 games with 167 starts from 2003-2013.
• 167 games started are the most by any player in team history, making 118 starts at left tackle and 49 starts at right tackle.
• Six-time team captain only missed nine games during his 11-year NFL career.
• Contributed to offense that set a single-season team record with 6,237 total net yards in 2011.
• Helped the Panthers set single-season team records with 2,498 rushing yards in 2009, 5.41 average yards per rush in 2011 and 30 rushing touchdowns in 2008.
• Provided protection for the Panthers to set a single-season team record for the fewest sacks allowed with 20 in 2008.
• Selected to the Pro Bowl following the 2008, 2010 and 2013 seasons.
• Earned AP All-Pro first-team honors in 2008 and all-rookie honors from Pro Football Weekly in 2003.
Steve Smith, Sr. – Wide Receiver
• Played in 182 games with 161 starts from 2001-2013.
• Ranks first in team history with 836 receptions for 12,197 yards and 67 touchdowns with 43 100-yard receiving games.
• Holds the single-season team records for the most receiving yards with 1,563 in 2005 and most 100-yard receiving games with nine in 2005.
• Owns single-game team record for the most receiving yards with 201 versus Minnesota (10/30/05) and shares the team records for the most receptions with 14 at Chicago (11/20/05) and most receiving touchdowns with three at Miami (9/25/05) and versus Houston (9/16/07).
• Caught a pass in 106 consecutive games from 2006-2013, the longest streak in team history.
• Selected to the Pro Bowl following the 2001, 2005, 2006, 2008 and 2011 seasons.
• Earned AP All-Pro first-team honors in 2001 and 2005.
Wesley Walls – Tight End
• Played in 98 games with 96 starts from 1996-2002.
• Ranks second in team history among tight ends with 324 receptions and 3,902 receiving yards.
• Ranks first in team history among tight ends with 44 receiving touchdowns.
• Tied the NFL record (since broken) for the most touchdown catches in a season by a tight end with 12 in 1999.
• Caught a pass in 70 consecutive games from 1996-2001, the third longest streak in team history.
• Selected to the Pro Bowl following the 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999 and 2001 seasons.
• Earned AP All-Pro second-team honors in 1996, 1997 and 1999.
The induction date is to-be-determined.
