Now, an expected long wait.

Joe is confident Tampa Bay’s lone Pro Football Hall of Fame voter, prized JoeBucsFan.com columnist Ira Kaufman, will provide a deeper explanation in a column soon. But it appears John Lynch might have to wait at least a few years to get into Canton.

Of course, we know Lynch didn’t make it Saturday night. He didn’t even get to the final round of 10 in the annual Hall voting. Mike Sando of BSPN explains why Lynch likely will be waiting a few years for his next-best opportunity.

Dawkins, the great former Philadelphia Eagles safety, had the edge over Lynch, the great former Tampa Bay Buccaneers safety.

[Ed] Reed’s eligibility as a first-time safety candidate in 2019 figures to replicate the dynamic for Lynch next year. Voters sometimes talk about picking the best five players regardless of position, but when little separates candidates in voters’ minds, there can be a tendency for individual voters to pick one player from a position group.

Finalists tend to earn enshrinement eventually. Lynch will continue to have elite company among safeties on future ballots with Reed eligible in 2019, Troy Polamalu eligible in 2020 and Charles Woodson eligible in 2021.

That’s a gauntlet right there. In two years it is difficult to believe Reed or Polamalu won’t be elected — they were that dominant. At his peak, Polamalu was a total game-changer.

While Woodson was great, fifth all-time in career interceptions, he also was a corner when he first entered the NFL. So that may complicate things for him and help out Lynch.