Hall of Fame 2015: Chiefs' Will Shields among 15 finalists announced

Former Kansas City Chiefs guard Will Shields is a 2015 Pro Football Hall of Fame finalist for the fourth consecutive season. The voters whittle the list of potential Hall of Famers down to 15 at this time of year, and they'll choose up to five to make it into Hall of Fame's 2015 class announced the day before the Super Bowl. There is also a senior candidate this year as well as two contributor candidates for a maximum of eight possible 2015 Hall of Fame entries.

For now though, the finalists sit at 15. KC Chiefs fans are obviously hoping that Shields will be rightfully represented in this year's class. Shields was a 12-time Pro Bowler who started 223 straight games for the Chiefs in addition to being a Walter Payton Man of the Year winner. He was arguably the finest player at his position for a looooong time.

Another Chiefs connection is kicker Morten Andersen, who spent a couple of years with the Chiefs. This is his third year of eligibility.

In the contributor category, Bill Polian spent some time in Kansas City in the late 70s and early 80s as a scout so he has the Chiefs connection, too.

Here is the full list of finalists this year.

2015 Hall of Fame finalists

Morten Andersen, Kicker - 1982-1994 New Orleans Saints, 1995-2000, 2006-07 Atlanta Falcons, 2001 New York Giants, 2002-03 Kansas City Chiefs, 2004 Minnesota Vikings

Jerome Bettis, Running Back - 1993-95 Los Angeles/St. Louis Rams, 1996-2005 Pittsburgh Steelers

Tim Brown, Wide Receiver/Kick Returner/Punt Returner - 1988-2003 Los Angeles/ Oakland Raiders, 2004 Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Don Coryell, Coach - 1973-77 St. Louis Cardinals, 1978 -1986 San Diego Chargers

Terrell Davis, Running Back - 1995-2001 Denver Broncos

Tony Dungy, Coach - 1996-2001 Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 2002-08 Indianapolis Colts

Kevin Greene, Linebacker/Defensive End - 1985-1992 Los Angeles Rams, 1993-95 Pittsburgh Steelers, 1996, 1998-99 Carolina Panthers, 1997 San Francisco 49ers

Charles Haley, Defensive End/Linebacker - 1986-1991, 1999 San Francisco 49ers, 1992-96 Dallas Cowboys

Marvin Harrison, Wide Receiver - 1996-2008 Indianapolis Colts

Jimmy Johnson, Coach - 1989-1993 Dallas Cowboys, 1996- 99 Miami Dolphins

John Lynch, Free Safety - 1993-2003 Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 2004-07 Denver Broncos

Orlando Pace, Tackle - 1997-2008 St. Louis Rams, 2009 Chicago Bears

Junior Seau, Linebacker - 1990-2002 San Diego Chargers, 2003-05 Miami Dolphins, 2006-09 New England Patriots

Will Shields, Guard - 1993-2006 Kansas City Chiefs

Kurt Warner, Quarterback - 1998-2003 St. Louis Rams, 2004 New York Giants, 2005-09 Arizona Cardinals

Senior candidate

*Mick Tingelhoff, Center - 1962-1978 Minnesota Vikings

Contributors

**Ron Wolf, Contributor - 1963-1974, 1979-1989 Oakland/Los Angeles Raiders, 1966 American Football League, 1976-78 Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 1990-91 New York Jets, 1991-2001 Green Bay Packers

**Bill Polian, Contributor - 1978-1982 Kansas City Chiefs, 1984-1992 Buffalo Bills, 1993-94 National Football League, 1995-97 Carolina Panthers, 1998-2011 Indianapolis Colts