Two Former New York Jets Stars Fall off Pro Football Hall of Fame Seniors List

Two of the New York Jets’ biggest stars from previous eras did not make the first cut for the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Seniors List.

Oct 13, 2013; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Jets former players Mark Gastineau (99) and Joe Klecko (73) and Marty Lyons serve as honorary captains during the coin toss before the New York Jets faced the Pittsburgh Steelers at MetLife Stadium. The Steelers won the game 19-6. / Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images

When the Pro Football Hall of Fame announced its first cut for the 2025 seniors category on Thursday only two players with New York Jets ties made the cut.

Among the three that didn’t were former quarterback Boomer Esiason and “New York Sack Exchange”-era star and defensive end Mark Gastineau. The other was kicker Nick Lowery.

Linebacker Larry Grantham and wide receiver Art Powell made the cut to 60 players, which are now passed to a nine-person seniors blue-ribbon committee that will make additional reductions in increments over the next several weeks.

In late fall, this committee will select three seniors as finalists for possible election with the Class of 2025.

The original list featured 182 nominees with members of the senior screening committee voting for their top 50. Anyone tied at 50 advanced.

Esiason and Gastineau, along with Lowery, will have to wait another year.

Esiason played three seasons with the Jets (1993-95) and earned a Pro Bowl nod his first season. He threw for 8.478 yards, with 49 touchdowns and 39 interceptions.  For his 14-year career, he threw for 37,920 yards, 247 touchdowns and 184 interceptions. He was the 1988 NFL MVP and was the 1995 Walter Payton Man of the Year award winner.

Gastineau was named the NFL Defensive Player of the Year in the strike-shortened 1982 season. He became the best-known member of the famed “New York Sack Exchange,” as he played nearly a decade and finished his career with 107.5 sacks. His teammate from that line, Joe Klecko, was recently inducted.

He was a four-time first-team All-Pro and a five-time Pro Bowl selection. He’s also a member of the Jets Ring of Honor.

Lowery played the final three years of NFL career with the Jets, as he made nearly 80% of his field goals. For his 18-year career that was his average, as he earned two All-Pro selections and three Pro Bowl selections.

Grantham played his entire 12-year career with the Jets (1960-72), as he finished his career with 24 interceptions. He won a Super Bowl ring with the Jets and was named a five-time All-Pro Bowl selection and a five-time Pro Bowl selection.

Powell spent three seasons with New York (1960-62), where he caught 204 passes for 3,178 yards and 27 touchdowns. For his 10-year career, he caught 479 passes for 8,046 yards and 81 touchdowns. He was a two-time All-Pro and a four-time Pro Bowl selection.