Not a single Detroit Lions player was selected for the Pro Bowl from the 2021 season. Not one.
Four players were chosen as alternates, but getting in as a third alternate in the way fullback Jason Cabinda could is the football equivalent of winning an F1 race because all the cars ahead of you crash on the final lap.
It’s an affront to Lions players who have performed consistently well despite the lack of team success. Cornerback Amani Oruwariye was tabbed as an “egregious snub” by Touchdown Wire, and that’s spot on. He’s not the only Detroit player overlooked because of some combination of the team’s 2-11-1 record, lack of national prominence, lack of sizzle players and being relegated to having Chris Myers call half their games for FOX.
Has there been a better right tackle than Penei Sewell? Both the eye test and the Pro Football Focus grading say he’s the best RT in the league. But he’s not even a Pro Bowl alternate. Maybe it stems from him playing half the year out of position at left tackle, though Sewell was still pretty good on the left side too.
Three Lions made the Pro Bowl after the 2020 season: Frank Ragnow, Jack Fox and T.J. Hockenson. Ragnow has missed almost all of 2021 with a thumb injury. Hockenson is now on IR after thumb surgery of his own, though he was one of the four Lions named as an alternate. Fox is technically having a better year in 2021 in gross yards per punt and ranks the same (third) leaguewide, so he’s a viable snub too.
There was no game last year, of course. And the players who did earn spots in the annual exhibition would likely prefer to not have the game played in 2022 either; the trip to Las Vegas with the family and colleagues is great, but the watered-down game itself has become a pointless cash grab of declining prestige in search of a paying audience.
Would it be nice if Oruwariye, Sewell, Fox or OLB Charles Harris made an appearance in the Pro Bowl? Of course. Are they deserving? Probably. Does it really matter? Other than for bonus incentives in contracts, heck no!
More knowledgeable and hardcore fans are coming to realize that it’s All-Pro nods that matter, not Pro Bowls. Between fan voting, virulently effective PR campaigns by teams to promote obscure players to get votes, and reflexive reactions based on team records or player reputations that might be woefully outdated (see: Alvin Kamara), there is a growing realization that the Pro Bowl isn’t the honor it used to be.
That’s a good thing. From a Lions perspective, it will be better when the team gets players honored with Pro Bowl nods who don’t really deserve it. Until then, forget about the popularity contest and the worst of the professional sports exhibitions, just as the Pro Bowl has forgotten about the Detroit Lions.