For the past three voting cycles, Willie Anderson has been a modern-era finalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. And each time, he’s come up one step short of enshrinement.

Among Anderson’s credentials are three consecutive seasons as a first-team All-Pro. Those seasons coincide with Carson Palmer’s first three years as the Cincinnati Bengals quarterback after being the No. 1 pick in the 2004 NFL Draft.

On Sunday night, the former Southern Cal signal-caller was inducted into the Senior Bowl Hall of Fame with its five-member Class of 2024.

In an interview before the ceremony, Palmer advocated for Anderson to get over the final hurdle for enshrinement in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

“I think he’s a sure-fire Hall of Famer,” Anderson said. “Unfortunately, he played for the Bengals for a long time. And at right tackle, you can only have so much influence on the game, and he had a massive influence. He always had my open side. He was great in the run game, great in the pass game. I just remember the respect he had from the defensive linemen he played against. I’ll never forget walking off the field when we were playing against the Giants, and Michael Strahan coming up to him, listening to those two guys’ dialogue and the respect they had for each other.

“Willie’s one of the all-time greats – a fundamental technician. He was so big, he was hard to get past and you couldn’t bull-rush him. But he had great feet. He was a great basketball player, a really good athlete, so if he had a 6-4, 260(-pound) defensive end he was going against, he just outweighed them and outpowered them. If he had a big Reggie White-sized guy, a 300-pound guy, he was so athletic and had such good feet that he did a good job against those big guys of being quicker than them, so he was just a complete player.

“And really, it was near the end of his career when I played with him, but a phenomenal leader. Just having him in the locker room and being a young quarterback with a veteran tackle like that that was a great leader and a guy that spoke up when he needed to speak up. Led by example but also led with his words and was a great motivational speaker. Just an absolute Hall of Famer, in my opinion.”

A former Vigor High School and Auburn standout, Anderson joined Cincinnati as the 10th pick in the 1996 NFL Draft and became a fixture at right tackle. Anderson started every Bengals game except for two from 1996 through 2006. From 2003 through 2006, he was on the AFC Pro Bowl team annually in addition to making first-team All-Pro in three of those seasons.

A member of the Bengals Ring of Honor, Anderson played in 195 regular-season games and four playoff contests during his 13 NFL seasons.

Only one of those postseason games came with the Bengals. The other three came during his final NFL season, which Anderson spent with the Baltimore Ravens.

To Palmer, that’s the holdup on Anderson taking the final step into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. During Anderson’s 12 seasons with Cincinnati, the Bengals had one winning record — going 11-5 in 2005, Palmer’s second season at quarterback. Overall, Cincinnati posted a 76-117 mark during Anderson’s time with the team.

“I really hope he gets in,” Palmer said, “but I understand why it’s taken a while just because he was there for so long and they really struggled for a long time. And that’s the only reason. It’s not talent, it’s not athleticism, it’s not ability, it’s not injury, it’s not length of time in the game. He checks off every box. He just may have played at the wrong place at the wrong time.”

Palmer entered the Senior Bowl Hall of Fame with Alabama defensive tackle Marty Lyons and linebacker DeMeco Ryans, Utah defensive back Eric Weddle and UAB wide receiver Roddy White in a ceremony at the Grand Hotel Golf Club and Spa in Point Clear.

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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.