Cleveland Browns rookie Shedeur Sanders has been named to the Pro Bowl as a replacement for Super Bowl-bound quarterback Drake Maye.
“Thank you God,” Sanders said in a statement. “I’m beyond excited and extremely grateful for all the love and support from the coaches, players, and fans. This wouldn’t be possible without the support behind me. Still plenty of work to do.”
The 23-year-old Sanders threw for 1,400 yards, seven touchdowns and 10 interceptions as a rookie, going 3-4 in his starts.
Sanders is the first Browns quarterback to be named to the Pro Bowl since Derek Anderson in 2008.
The news was met with about the response you’d expect:
Here’s the reality—unless about seven or eight other potential options turned down the replacement gig after Maye reached the Super Bowl, there is zero reason for Sanders to have been named a Pro Bowler.
He had a QBR of 18.9 and a passer rating of 68.1. For context, his teammate and fellow rookie Dillon Gabriel had a QBR of 31.5 and a passer rating of 80.8 across 10 appearances. Gabriel wasn’t great either, but his touchdown-to-interception ratio was 7-to-2, which sure looks better than what Sanders provided.
Granted, Gabriel was dinking-and-dunking far more than Sanders, who actually took shots down the field, so the context matters. But there is no context in which Sanders is a worthy Pro Bowler outside of other alternatives turning down the opportunity, which is certainly a possibility.
This year’s Pro Bowl will be held on Tuesday, Feb. 3 at 8 p.m. ET. It will be an AFC vs. NFC flag football contest.
