Game recognize game. That’s at least the premise behind the first-ever Players’ All-Pro Team, a list of the league’s all-stars as voted on by the players themselves.
The NFL Players Association announced the inaugural team on Wednesday, and while it does feature two superstar Cowboys players, one who was left off the list may come as a shock.
It definitely caught the player himself off-guard.
Guard Zack Martin and punt returner KaVontae Turpin were selected for the honor for the 2022 season, but linebacker Micah Parsons was not.
The Players’ All-Pro Team was created to be a list that features the best of the best at each position, as voted on solely by the players who line up against them week after week. Unlike the Pro Bowl, which is open to fan voting, and the AP All-Pro Team, which is selected by media members, the Players’ All-Pro Team is touted as “the only team voted on exclusively by players, in a way that makes the most sense to the game of football,” according to the NFLPA website.
Here is the inaugural Players’ All-Pro Team, via the NFL Players Association: pic.twitter.com/KyeqjecgEG
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 11, 2023
Martin would seem to have been a shoo-in for recognition by his peers. And Turpin obviously made a strong impression in his first NFL season.
Parsons, last year’s Defensive Rookie of the Year and a frontrunner to win this season’s Defensive Player of the Year Award, was snubbed, however, in favor of linebackers Fred Warner of the 49ers and Roquan Smith of the Ravens. (San Francisco’s Nick Bosa and Cleveland’s Myles Garrett were voted in as the team’s edge rushers.)
The Cowboys linebacker took to social media just after the Players’ All-Pro Team was announced to colorfully point out that he has bigger goals in mind at the moment, with the team’s postseason about to get underway on Monday.
Man I’m in playoff mode fu** that list! Congrats to those that made it tho! They deserve it !
— Micah Parsons (@MicahhParsons11) January 11, 2023
As per the NFLPA, only active players were allowed to vote for the Players’ All-Pro Team, and players were not permitted to vote for themselves or their teammates. They voted only for their own position group as well as players in positions they lined up across the ball from. Players who had missed five or more games of the season (as of Week 15) were ineligible.
The regular All-Pro Team, as voted on by the Associated Press, will be announced in a few weeks.
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