With all due respect to Cleveland Browns rookie Shedeur Sanders, in no way is he an NFL Pro Bowl quarterback right now. He’s probably better than his draft slot and better than his numbers say, but the bar is on the absolute floor right now.
No one in their right mind would consider him a top quarterback worthy of the Pro Bowl nod that used to mean something. Yet, incomprehensibly, he will compete in the Pro Bowl Games next week in place of Drake Maye.
Shedeur Sanders replaces Drake Maye in Pro Bowl
Those who play in the Super Bowl do not play in the Pro Bowl, even if it’s now a collection of field day games and not an actual football exhibition. It’s just not worth the risk to the teams fighting for a championship.
Plenty of others drop out for health reasons or just because they prefer not to compete. It leads to a ton of alternates getting in every year, even if the new format doesn’t allow for everyone to be replaced. If an interior defensive lineman drops out, for example, there is no alternate.
With all due respect to Shedeur Sanders, who was not dealt a good hand this year at all, he was not very good. He was 3-4 as the starter for the Browns. He completed 56.6% of his passes for 1,400 yards, seven touchdowns, and 10 interceptions after appearing in eight total games.
Those are paltry numbers, and there are tons of quarterbacks who should’ve made the Pro Bowl over Sanders. The most deserving were Trevor Lawrence, Caleb Williams, and Jordan Love. Beyond them, so many could’ve been given the nod over Sanders, and it would have made more sense:
- Bo Nix
- Baker Mayfield
- Bryce Young
- C.J. Stroud
- Patrick Mahomes (and he tore his ACL!)
- Aaron Rodgers
- Jalen Hurts
- Cam Ward
Among NFL quarterbacks who played even one game this season, there are only a few less deserving than Sanders. They are Dillon Gabriel, Jake Browning, Brady Cook, Quinn Ewers, and Tyler Huntley. It would have been more appropriate for Philip Rivers to make the Pro Bowl than Sanders.
What happened to the Pro Bowl?
This is not meant to be an attack on Shedeur Sanders, who is hit with unfair criticism all the time. Unfortunately, this Pro Bowl nod will only add fuel to the fire. What this is meant to be is a criticism of the NFL for putting him in the game and an analysis of how little the Pro Bowl means anymore.
Players have not cared about the game itself for a long time, which is why they replaced the actual football game with a flag football game and then added a bunch of silly skills competitions. It’s a circus, but that’s because the league had no choice.
Fan voting has also helped to make this a meaningless honor. Players probably do still care about being named one initially, but the fan vote dilutes it to a popularity contest, which is how Zay Flowers, Jalen Carter, T.J. Watt, and others made it over more deserving names.
Having a Pro Bowl designation next to a player’s name on their Football Reference page means very little anymore. It hasn’t since players like Tyler Huntley made it a few years ago. There have always been bad inclusions, but that seemed to be a tipping point and not in a good way.
Now, Shedeur Sanders joins the list of appalling Pro Bowl players, and slowly but surely, the game is losing the little bit of relevance it still has. Eventually, the NFL might have to do away with the entire thing.
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