Patrick Willis Named Member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2024

The San Francisco 49ers would like to congratulate former 49ers linebacker Patrick Willis on being named to the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2024.
 
Statement from San Francisco 49ers Ownership on Willis:
"Congratulations to Patrick Willis on his well-deserved honor of being elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Willis has cemented his legacy as one of the greatest linebackers in NFL history. He set a standard of excellence and provided exemplary leadership for his teammates. His grit and passion for the game anchored our defense and elevated everyone around him. We join the 49ers Faithful in celebrating Willis as a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2024."
 
Willis was originally selected by San Francisco 11th overall in the 2007 NFL Draft. He spent his entire eight-year career with the 49ers (2007-14), starting all 112 games in which he appeared and registering a franchise record 950 total tackles, eight interceptions, 53 passes defensed, 16 forced fumbles, five fumble recoveries and 20.5 sacks. Willis' 53 passes defensed and 16 forced fumbles are the most among 49ers linebackers. He also started all eight postseason games in which he appeared and notched 71 total tackles, one interception, two passes defensed, one fumble recovery and 2.0 sacks. Willis was named to the Pro Football Hall of Fame's 2010s All-Decade Team in 2020 and was inducted into the Edward J. DeBartolo Sr. San Francisco 49ers Hall of Fame in 2021.
 
Willis made an immediate impact in San Francisco, earning NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year and First Team All-Pro honors in 2007. He led the NFL in tackles as a rookie and did so again in the 2009 season. He remains the first player in 49ers history to be selected as an All-Pro in each of the first six seasons of his career (First Team – 2007, 2009-12; Second Team – 2008). A seven-time Pro Bowl selection, Willis was the first 49ers player since S Ronnie Lott to be selected to the Pro Bowl in each of his first four seasons. He was also the first player in franchise history to be selected to the Pro Bowl in each of his first seven seasons. Willis, along with DT Aaron Donald, LB Lawrence Taylor and LB Derrick Thomas are the only defensive players since the merger in 1970 to be selected to the Pro Bowl in each of their first seven seasons.
 
Willis is the sixth player who exclusively donned the red and gold to be inducted into the Hall of Fame, joining CB Jimmy Johnson, DT Leo Nomellini, T Bob St. Clair, LB Dave Wilcox and DT Bryant Young. He is a two-time recipient of the Bill Walsh Award (2007 & 2009), which is voted on by the coaches and awarded to the 49ers player who best represents the standard of professional excellence established by Walsh. Along with RB Frank Gore, DT Justin Smith and LB Fred Warner, the four are the only two-time winners of the award in franchise history.