The sad state of the Pro Bowl has gotten worse. No one seemingly wants to play and backup quarterbacks will instead get to soak in all the glory this weekend.
Twitter went into a frenzy when it was announced that Tyler Huntley, the Ravens’ backup who has made only four starts, and Derek Carr, who was benched for Jarrett Stidham, will be headed to Las Vegas for the Pro Bowl.
A game reserved for the best players in the NFL is now a shell of itself, and many on the Twitterverse blasted it.
“Tyler Huntley made the Pro Bowl??” former NFL receiver Brandon Stokley tweeted. “He had 2 passing TD’s and 3 interceptions. He started 4 games and played in 5 games. What are we doing??? Being a Pro Bowler ain’t what it once was. Time to be done with the Pro Bowl.”
“They got rid of the game, but they haven’t fixed the #ProBowl roster issue,” reporter Paul Kuharsky tweeted. “Tyler Huntley is an AFC QB. He played in six games, starting four. He had a 77.2 passer rating. That many guys said no???”
They did.
Huntley received the seventh-most votes in the AFC among quarterbacks, ahead of more recognizable names like Mac Jones, Ryan Tannehill and Russell Wilson. Carr received the eighth-most votes and received the invitation after the Bengals’ Joe Burrow bowed out.
Patrick Mahomes, Burrow and Josh Allen were the initial selections, with Tua Tagovailoa and Justin Herbert as alternates. But Mahomes is playing in Super Bowl 2023 after the Chiefs defeated the Bengals in Sunday’s AFC Championship. Allen, Herbert, Jackson and Tagovailoa, meanwhile, are all injured. Allen also instead opted for the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am golf tournament instead.
Huntley’s numbers are likely the worst that we have seen in Pro Bowl history. He started in just four games, passed for 658 yards, threw two touchdowns and three interceptions. He also had that season-turning fumble at the goalline in the wild-card round against the Bengals.
Lamar Jackson also apparently declined an invitation.
His backup will happily reap the benefits. It will be Huntley’s first Pro Bowl, compared to two for Jackson. It also gives him one more appearance than Burrow.
For Carr, this will be his fourth appearance and undoubtedly his most emotional, as he already sent his goodbye message to Raiders fans. He will get one last opportunity to show off his skills in front of his home fans at Allegiant Stadium this weekend.