Isaac Bruce elected to Pro Football Hall of Fame

The Pro Football Hall of Fame announced their modern era entrants on Saturday, with former St. Louis (and for one year, Los Angeles) Rams wide receiver Isaac Bruce finally getting his turn to be inducted into Canton.

Bruce played for the Rams from 1994, their last season in LA at the time, until 2007. At which point, he played two season for the San Francisco 49ers. But Bruce’s career highlights are pretty well situated with the Rams, currently sitting fifth all-time in receiving yards at 15,208, plus 91 touchdowns on 14.9 yards per catch.

He helped the Rams win their first and only Super Bowl championship in 1999, catching 77 passes for 1,165 yards and 12 touchdowns as he, Kurt Warner, Torry Holt, Orlando Pace, Marshall Faulk, and others changed NFL offenses forever. Bruce had a career-high 1,471 yards the next season, then helped St. Louis return to the Super Bowl in 2001 on 1,106 yards and a career-best 17.3 yards per catch.

Warner, Pace, and Faulk are all already in the Hall of Fame. Bruce had the most career receiving yards for any player not in the Hall of Fame and the next two on the list are Holt and another former Rams receiver, Henry Ellard. Not that it should be in doubt, but this could be a good sign for Holt’s future Hall of Fame chances.

The other four inductees are former Seahawks/Vikings guard Steve Hutchinson, Steelers safety Troy Polamalu, Colts running back Edgerrin James, and Broncos safety Steve Atwater.