Bengals legend Willie Anderson blames Michael Oher’s ‘The Blind Side’ story for Hall of Fame induction delay

Former Cincinnati Bengals right tackle Willie Anderson has been a Pro Football Hall of Fame finalist three times but has yet to make the Hall of Fame. It has been 18 years since a right tackle was inducted into the Hall of Fame, and Anderson thinks there is a big reason behind it.

In a recent conversation with Kay Adams, the Bengals legend said that the movie ' The Blind Side' is one of the biggest reasons why the right tackles haven't been inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

'The Blind Side' movie depicts the life of former Baltimore Ravens offensive lineman Michael Oher. In the movie, Oher plays as a left tackle during his journey to the NFL, and that popularizes the position as compared to the other positions on the offensive line. Talking about it, Anderson said:

“The whole Blind Side thing took off because of the movie and right-side guys got pushed away. You got some kids, 18, 19 years old, who’ll tell you ‘I only want to play left tackle. I say go look at what Penei Sewell’s contract was with the Detroit Lions this year, got over $100 million.

"The kids and their parents, because of the media push of The Blind Side with the left tackle, it’s a huge deal. But they don’t realize guards are getting paid crazy money right now.”

Michael Oher initially started his career in the NFL as a right tackle but later played as a left tackle for the Ravens as well as the Carolina Panthers. He also played as a right tackle during his lone year with the Tennessee Titans in 2014, in which he played 11 games for the AFC South franchise.

In comparison, as per PFR, Anderson played as a left tackle during his rookie year with the Bengals, but after that, he went on to play the next 12 years of his career on the right side of the offensive line.

Highest-paid offensive linemen in the NFL 2024:

• All values are in Annual Average Value (AAV).

1. Penei Sewell - Lions - LT: $28 million
2. Leremy Tunsil - Texans - LT: $25 million
3. Andrew Thomas - Giants - LT: $23.5 million
4. Trent Williams - 49ers - LT: $23.01 million
5. Jordan Mailata - Eagles - LT: $22 million
6. Lane Johnson - Eagles- RT: $20.18 million

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A look back at Willie Anderson's career

Willie Anderson: Cincinnati Bengals Fan Rally Ahead Of Super Bowl LVI

The Cincinnati Bengals drafted Willie Anderson out of Auburn with the 10th overall pick in the 1996 NFL Draft. He played 11 seasons for the Bengals before finishing off his career with division rivals, the Baltimore Ravens, in 2008.

Willie Anderson played a total of 195 games during his NFL career and started 184 of them. He was an All-Pro three times and made the Pro Bowl four times during his career. After finishing as a finalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame three times, it will be fascinating to see if he will finally get the nod this time around.

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