The NFL Pro Bowl rosters are out and there were some surprises. Bucs QB Baker Mayfield was left out despite having the best season of his career, statistically, Broncos’ QB Zach Allen, Jonnu Smith of the Dolphins, and the player with the most interceptions in the league, Kerby Joseph, were some of the notable absentees. As for the defending champions, they had five players on the AFC roster, minus the Super Bowl MVP Patrick Mahomes and another star, who improved markedly this season.
The AFC lineup will see Lamar Jackson, Josh Allen, and Joe Burrow under center for the annual All-Star game. Those in favor of Mahomes will argue that none of these names led their side to a 15-1 record this season and the conference’s No. 1 playoff seed. Yet, Mahomes misses out largely due to some underwhelming performances by his standards.
While the Pro Bowl snub won’t affect Mahomes much, other than the fact that he missed out on selection for the first time since taking over as the starting QB for the Chiefs in 2018, it will cost Chiefs cornerback Trent McDuffie.
Despite being a First-Team All-Pro in 2023, McDuffie missed out on the Pro Bowl team. According to the NFL Insider Jordan Schultz, the 24-year-old CB is set to miss out on $4.4 million as a result of his Pro Bowl snub.
Schultz tweeted, “People consider the Pro Bowl a joke, and that’s fine. But the Pro Bowl affects players’ pockets, and that’s where it’s unfortunate when a player gets snubbed. For example, Trent McDuffie has never been selected to the Pro Bowl on the original ballot, so his fifth-year option is about $12.7M. If he had made one Pro Bowl, it would be $17.1M. If he had made two, it would be over $20M. It’s unfortunate for the players who are deserving.”
Former first-round draft picks who are selected to Pro Bowls on the original ballot in their first three seasons in the NFL will see an increase in their fifth-year option amounts.
McDuffie’s exclusion will be hard for the player to digest and it is also surprising, given that he was the second-best CB in the league.
People consider the Pro Bowl a joke, and that’s fine. But the Pro Bowl affects players’ pockets, and that’s where it’s unfortunate when a player gets snubbed. For example, Trent McDuffie has never been selected to the Pro Bowl on the original ballot, so his fifth-year option is… https://t.co/o8wmdAPGKL pic.twitter.com/dc83mzcCSI
— Jordan Schultz (@Schultz_Report) January 2, 2025
Pro Football Network rated Trent McDuffie at the 2nd position behind Broncos CB Pat Surtain II, who was selected. After taking over as the Chiefs’ No. 1 cornerback the CB has 59 tackles (45 solo) with one forced fumble, a career single-season 13 defended passes, one sack, and two interceptions to his name in 16 games. Moreover, according to Pro Football Focus, McDuffie has a league-best lockdown rate at 66.7 percent, which measures the number of times he’s allowed separation to opposing receiver. These stats make the decision to leave him out of the Pro Bowl all the more baffling and one of his teammates was clearly not happy.
His defense teammate, safety Justin Reid, openly supported his friend. He used pretty strong words to criticize the format, tweeting, “Robbery… can’t stand Pro Bowl voting format.” The format has come under scrutiny with Lions’ DB Kerby Joseph also left out. He leads the league in interceptions (9) and has pulled in 17 picks across his first three NFL seasons. Not to mention, the Lions sit at the top of the NFC North.
Another notable miss from the AFC is Dolphins’ Jonnu Smith who is placed second in the conference in receiving yards (828) entering the regular season’s final week. He is also second among AFC tight ends in receptions (97). While McDuffie’s exclusion from the Pro Bowl is bad news, it has a silver lining for the Chiefs.
With the franchise looking to retain much of its talent from 2021 and 2022 draft classes, they will be stretched financially. They are also likely to offer McDuffie an extension, but they’re now looking at approximately $9 million in savings.
However, another enormous shock was the exclusion of the MVP candidate Patrick Mahomes. But was his snub justified?
Patrick Mahomes snubbed for Pro Bowl
From the Chiefs O-line, TE Travis Kelce, Guards Joe Thuney and Trey Smith, and center Creed Humphrey got selected. DT Chris Jones was the sole inclusion in the AFC roster. But the biggest name who will miss this year’s Pro Bowl is their QB Patrick Mahomes, who wouldn’t be fazed by any financial loss. He has a 10-year, $477 million deal with the team. But was it the right choice to leave him out of the Pro Bowl?
However, his reputation takes a big hit as his performance hasn’t been near his peak. In 16 games in 2024, he has 3,928 passing yards and 26 touchdowns, the lowest after becoming a starter. For the season, Mahomes ranks 10th overall in QB+ with a season score of 85.0. Compartively, Lamar Jackson is 1st, Josh Allen is 3rd, Joe Burrow is 4th. Mahomes is also 5th among AFC QBs, behind Tua Tagovailoa.
Despite this, the QB has done what he is supposed to do. Win games and secure the number 1 seed in the AFC conference as the Chiefs look primed for an unprecedented Super Bowl three-peat.
Even though Nick Wright, the First Things First podcast host, claimed that it was outrageous to not include the QB, he also mentioned that it would add motivation to complete the 3-peat. Now, it looks like one more of Mahomes’s teammate has the added motivation to go all the way yet again.
