It's about time!

In his 20th and final year of eligibility as a modern-era inductee, the late great Sam Mills is heading to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

He will be posthumously enshrined this August.

Joining Mills in the 2022 class will be modern-era inductees offensive tackle Tony Boselli, safety LeRoy Butler, defensive tackle/end Richard Seymour and defensive tackle Bryant Young.

Senior inductees include wide receiver Cliff Branch,  former NFL director of officiating Art McNally, and former head coach of the Eagles, Rams, and Chiefs Dick Vermeil.

Mills will be the 4th player in the Pro Football Hall of Fame who played the majority of his years with the Saints, joining linebacker Rickey Jackson, offensive tackle Willie Roaf, and kicker Morten Andersen.

As a member of the “Dome Patrol” linebacking corps, Mills was a nine-year starter for the Saints (1986-1994), compiling 894 tackles, to go along with 4 interceptions, and 17 fumble recoveries.

A four-time Pro Bowler during his time with the Saints, Mills was the anchor of one of the top defensive units in the league for almost an entire decade.

Sam Mills
Photo by Mike Powell/Getty Images
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Prior to his time in the NFL, Mills was a star in the old United States Football League in the early 1980s with the Baltimore/Philadelphia Stars, who were by former Saints head coach Jim Mora.

He spent the final three seasons of his NFL career as the anchor of the expansion Carolina Panthers team, where he earned first-team AP All-Pro honors in 1996.

Mills was elected to the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame in 1991, the Sports Hall of Fame of New Jersey in 1993, and the New Orleans Saints Hall of Fame in 1998.

As one of four members of the Dome Patrol (Mills, Rickey Jackson, Pat Swilling, Vaughan Johnson), Mills will be the second in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, joining Jackson who was enshrined in 2010.

Sadly, Mills was diagnosed with intestinal cancer in August of 2003 and passed away in 2005.

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