Heath Miller is among the first-time nominees eligible for the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2021.
Miller retired after the 2015 season following an 11-year career with the Pittsburgh Steelers in which he set virtually every team receiving record for a tight end.
Miller finished his career with 592 receptions for 6,569 yards and 45 touchdowns.
A first-round draft pick in 2005, Miller won two Super Bowl championships with the Steelers and was selected to the Pro Bowl after the 2009 and ’12 seasons.
The 130 players on the initial list of Hall of Fame nominees include 14 players in their first-year of eligibility. Joining Miller are Peyton Manning, Steven Jackson, Calvin Johnson, Wes Welker, Roddy White, D’Brickashaw Ferguson, Logan Mankins, Jared Allen, Justin Tuck, Kevin Williams, Jerod Mayo, Charles Tillman and Charles Woodson.
The list of modern-era nominees will be trimmed to 25 semifinalists in November and 15 in January.
Other Steelers players among the nominees are five holdovers: wide receiver Hines Ward, guard Alan Faneca, linebacker Joey Porter, nose tackle Casey Hampton and kicker Gary Anderson. Faneca has reached the final round of balloting in each of the past four years. Ward has been a semifinalist four years running without making it to the 15 finalists.
The list of 25 finalists will be revealed in November.
Among the 18 finalists who will be presented to the 48-member selection committee on the eve of Super Bowl XL is late Steelers scout Bill Nunn, who is the lone finalist under the “Contributor” category.
Nunn was announced as a finalist last month.
