The Steelers will face the Minnesota Vikings in the 2015 Pro Football Hall of Fame game, the National Football League announced on Wednesday.
Kickoff between the Steelers and Vikings will be at 8:00 p.m. on Sunday, August 9. The game will be played at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton, Ohio, which is adjacent to the hall of fame. The game, which is traditionally the first preseason game played, will kick off NBC’s Sunday Night Football season.
Both teams are represented in the 2015 hall of fame class. The Steelers will be inducting running back Jerome Bettis (1996-2004), while the Vikings are inducting center Mick Tingelhoff (1962-1978). Junior Seau, Charles Haley, Tim Brown, Will Shields, Ron Wolf and Bill Polian round out the class.
The induction ceremony, including unveiling of the player’s bronze busts and receipt of their gold jackets, will take place on the Saturday before the game.
It will mark the sixth time that the Steelers have played in the Hall of Fame Game. The last time they participated was 2007. The Steelers haven’t played in the game during the same weekend that they were inducting someone since team owner Art Rooney was inducted in 1964.
The teams that play in the game play an extra preseason game, four instead of five, and are permitted to open training camp a week earlier than the other 30 NFL teams. That would put the Steelers on track to report to camp on Saturday July 25, 2015 – only 164 days away.
The NFL offseason continues next week with the scouting combine in Indianapolis, Indiana from February 17-23.
Photo Credit: USA Today
