One Member of the NFL’s 2024 Hall of Fame Class Played for the Detroit Lions

The 2024 Pro Football Hall of Fame class is littered with Chicago Bears, one of the notable rivals of the Detroit Lions. Devin Hester, Steve McMichael and Julius Peppers all played significant portions of their careers in the Windy City.

That's why the Bears are one of the teams competing in the annual Hall of Fame Game Thursday night against the Houston Texans, which are inducting there first member in Andre Johnson. Ironically, that pits the team with the most inductions against the team with the fewest.

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While the Bears will get plenty of love during the ceremonies, the Detroit Lions have a small claim to the night.

Pass rusher Dwight Freeney is also being inducted, known primarily for his daced of service with the Indianapolis Colts and an unstoppable spin move. In his career, Freeney played for six franchises: The Colts, San Diego Chargers, Arizona Cardinals, Atlanta Falcons, Seattle Seahawks -- and the Detroit Lions.

It's understandable if the most passionate of Lions fans were unaware. Freeney only played in five games for Detroit in 2017, his final NFL season, and failed to record any statistics. However, they were the final five games of his playing career.

In his career, Freeney recorded 125.5 sacks and 350 total tackles in his Hall of Fame career, but not a single one came with the Lions. Still, Freeney enjoyed finishing up his career with Jim Caldwell as his head coach, who he had previously worked with in Indianapolis.

The Detroit Lions have 22 Hall of Famers, and Freeney won't add to that total. But it is a small thing to take not of as pro football makes its return for the 2024 season this week.