Steven Jackson is unquestionably one of the best running backs in Rams history. He holds the franchise record with 10,138 career rushing yards and is third in rushing touchdowns, putting together a remarkable career in St. Louis.
As good as he was, he’s still waiting to get the call letting him know he’s been voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Jackson has been eligible for the Hall of Fame since 2021 but he’s come up short each year and it remains to be seen if he’ll ever get in.
While every Rams fan would love to see him enshrined in Canton, he’s not holding his breath. In fact, he doesn’t think about it much at all.
“What it means for me, until I get the phone call, I don’t really think much about it,” Jackson told D’Marco Farr in a recent interview. “I use that perspective because I’ve seen enough of our colleagues have this emotional rollercoaster. I don’t want to ride it. I’m not a rollercoaster guy period. I’m not a Six Flags guy, so I’m not going to ride the emotional rollercoaster of that, either. If it happens, I’ll be very grateful. Going to be a hell of a party. But until then, I really just block it out.”
It’s not that getting into the Hall of Fame wouldn’t mean much to Jackson, because it would. He said it would mean even more if he were to get in while both of his parents are alive because of the sacrifices they made throughout his career.
“If it happens while they’re here, it’d be very good because to me, we’ve all put in a lot of sacrifices, the hours, the drives to practice,” he said. “It’d be for them. That speech would be for them. And for them to see the world acknowledge their child. But if it happens after them, I don’t know how I would feel.”
Jackson has a case to make the Hall of Fame, being one of the best running backs of his generation. He had eight straight 1,000-yard seasons from 2005 to 2012, and that was while playing on some terrible Rams teams.
However, as we’ve seen with Torry Holt, sometimes the voters prefer other candidates for Canton.