Willie Roaf, who played left tackle for the New Orleans Saints from 1993-2001, has become the second long-time Saints player to be elected to the NFL Hall of Fame.
Roaf joins Jack Butler, Dermontti Dawson, Chris Doleman, Cortez Kennedy, Curtis Martin as members of the 2012 NFL Hall of Fame Induction Class.
Make the jump for more on the now Hall-of-Fame career of William Layton Roaf...
Roaf, who played collegiately at Louisiana Tech University, was drafted in the first round of the 1993 Draft by the New Orleans Saints with the 8th overall selection.
The Saints had to trade star LB and reigning Defensive Player of the Year Pat Swilling to the Detroit Lions get him, and while it tore up fans to see the Dome Patrol broken up, it turned out pretty sweet for the Saints after all.
Roah anchored the left side of the Saints offensive line for nine seasons, earning seven Pro Bowl and two First Team All-Pro selections during that time.
He played in only seven games in 2001 due to injury, and was traded to the Kansas City Chiefs in March of 2002. Roaf played for the Chiefs from 2002-2005, going to the Pro Bowl four more times, and making All-Pro once again before retiring in 2006.
Roaf was named to the NFL's All-Decade Teams of both the 1990s and 2000s, and by 2009 had become the Saints' most awarded player. (source)
The Times-Picayune/nola.com had this immediate story available online, and had this Tom Benson statement:
"We're glad to congratulate William Roaf in his election to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He meant a great deal to our team during his career with us. He was the best player on our team during his entire tenure with us, one of the top players in the history of our franchise and one of the NFL's greatest at his position."
The Saints official site posted this story following the announcement.
Roaf joins Dome Patroller Rickey Jackson (HOF Class of 2010) as the only players to play the majority of their careers with the Saints in the NFL Hall of Fame
Join your fellow Saints fans in celebrating the career and this great achievement by Willie Roaf in the comment section below.