Last week, Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders was named to the Pro Bowl roster as a replacement for New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye. It was a shocking move as Sanders did not have an efficient rookie campaign in his seven-game stint. This season, the Browns went 3–4 with him as quarterback.
Sanders’ nomination is the culmination of controversies surrounding the Pro Bowl. An event that once featured star safety Sean Taylor laying out a punter at full speed has quickly developed into a heavily marketed flag football game. In choosing Sanders, the NFL very clearly chose his influence over performance.
But were they wrong in doing so?
On Nov. 16, I, along with two friends, sat in the upper bowl of Huntington Bank Field to watch the Browns take on the Baltimore Ravens. Although fully fitted in winter attire, the swirling winds hailing from nearby Lake Erie rendered my face and hands numb for almost the entirety of the game.
The Ravens pulled away late, outscoring the Browns 13–0 in the fourth quarter en route to a 23–16 victory. Standout defensive end Myles Garrett stole most of the spotlight for the Browns, totaling four sacks on the day and bringing his season total to 15.
Despite Garrett’s historic day leading the way, the Browns faithful in attendance stood up and erupted when the Browns offense took the field coming out of halftime.
I peered down from my birds-eye view, attempting to grab a glimpse of what the crowd could possibly be cheering for. Was Garrett playing offense? Did the legendary Jim Brown make an appearance in the crowd? But then I saw the reason: rookie quarterback Dillon Gabriel had been replaced by another rookie signal caller in Sanders.
The Browns took a flyer on Sanders in the fifth round of the draft, two rounds after the team selected Gabriel. After a roller coaster of an offseason and training camp, Sanders settled as the Browns third-string quarterback — behind veteran Joe Flacco and the aforementioned Gabriel.
Yet, in the Week 10 tilt with the Ravens, Sanders’ number was called. Flacco had been sent off to the Cincinnati Bengals in October, while Gabriel had just been ruled out of the remainder of the game with a concussion.
And when his number was called, he didn’t give the best answer in his first half of play. In treacherous, windy conditions, Sanders completed only 25% of his passes for 47 passing yards with no touchdowns and an interception. Even though he completed a mere four passes against the Ravens, it felt as if he completed every throw he attempted. The Dogpound eagerly awaited Sanders’ debut and was behind him in his, albeit limited, successes.
Sanders remained the starter for the remainder of the season and was met with minimal highs and a plentiful amount of lows. In a 31–29 loss against the Tennessee Titans, Sanders had his best game as a pro, finishing with 364 yards through the air to go along with three touchdown passes and one interception.
However, statistically speaking, Sanders was the worst quarterback in the NFL — among weekly starters — from Week 10 through the end of the season. Even with his strong Week 14 performance, Sanders finished the year with seven total touchdowns and 10 interceptions; accompanied with a 56.6 completion percentage and an 18.9 total quarterback ranking. And although Sanders didn’t play enough games to qualify amongst league leaders, his QBR was nearly a full 15 points lower than the lowest qualified signal caller.
In recent years, the Pro Bowl has embarked on a downward spiral with no end in sight. This was the fourth straight year of the Pro Bowl Games — a weeklong skills competition and flag football game that replaced the former full-contact contest.
The NFL made such a drastic tonal shift to the event because players began to treat the game as a novelty, meaning that the competitiveness had been lost. Hard hits had been replaced by high point totals, and players and fans alike were uninterested in the antics.
A flag football game did not solve any problems. Many top players continue to see the event as a circus where the players perform.
When the Pro Bowl rosters were initially announced on Dec. 23, Maye, Justin Herbert, and Josh Allen were selected as the quarterbacks for the AFC. Without question, they deserved the honor. But Maye made the Super Bowl, rendering him ineligible, while Herbert and Allen dealt with minor injuries at the end of the season.
Other possible replacements, such as Bo Nix, Patrick Mahomes, and Daniel Jones, all suffered season-ending injuries. Jaguars head man Trevor Lawrence declined the invite.
With players fielding a mix of major and minor injuries, alongside a desire not to play in the games, the NFL was left with no choice but to default to Sanders.
Why should they not rely on influence instead of on field performance when neither players nor fans care about the product being put on the field?
Accompanying Sanders in this year’s festivities was the Cincinnati Bengals’ Joe Burrow, who played in eight games, and Flacco, who played in 13 games split between filling in for an injured Burrow in Cincinnati and ahead of Sanders on the Browns’ depth chart.
The Pro Bowl took place on Tuesday, and I had no clue it even happened until Wednesday. The NFC defeated the AFC 66–52. Sanders played, but stats were not recorded for the game.
A game on a 50-yard field on Tuesday night with no stats is no longer a way to honor the games best, but instead a mockery of what football has grown into.
How does the NFL fix the Pro Bowl? I don’t think they can. However, I plead with them to get rid of the flag football game. I propose a weekend packed with skill challenges. This year, I saw kicking and punting competitions accompanied by a long drive golf competition. It is not taken too seriously when it is focused on activities.
And in place of the game itself, create a third All-NFL team. Create another way for elite players to be honored. A Pro Bowl nomination has become watered down, but a new All-NFL team will ensure the league’s best are highlighted without having to fear players declining an invite.
Sanders’ Pro Bowl nomination is in no way a fault of his own. The problem lies in the fact that Sanders was given the opportunity in the first place.
