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Shedeur Sanders’ Pro Bowl Nod Makes Derrick Brown's Exclusion Even Sillier

Shedeur Sanders makes the Pro Bowl after only 6 weeks as a full-time starter, Derrick Brown is but still not in.
Preston Palm|
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Carolina Panthers

One of the most interesting and head-scratching stories coming out of championship weekend didn’t even have to do with the games themselves. The Pro Bowl is right around the corner, and the league’s top players will gather for the Pro Bowl games, well, the top players and Shedeur Sanders. 

On Monday afternoon, it was announced that Shedeur Sanders would be replacing New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye, as he’s headed to his first career Super Bowl.

 This was a shock to most, as Sanders wasn’t a full-time starter until week 12 of the season, and Sanders didn’t play at a Pro Bowl level, to say the least. In his time as a full-time starter from week 12 to week 17, Sanders threw for seven touchdowns and 10 interceptions. 

While Sanders fills in at QB, no replacements are made for the Defensive Line, Derrick Brown still out of the Pro Bowl

Derrick Browns pro bowl snub is even more ridiculous after Shedeur Sanders replacement bid.
The New York Times

Why does this matter to the Carolina Panthers? Derrick Brown was noticeably excluded from the Pro Bowl, and now he won’t even serve as a replacement for Packers star DL Micah Parsons, who tore his ACL late in the season. The NFL is not adding replacements for trench players. 

The NFL has effectively missed the mark twice: first by not naming Brown a Pro Bowler, and second by failing to include him as a replacement, even though other positions are getting replacement players. 

If there was ever more reason to not take the Pro Bowl seriously, this is it. It was hard to imagine how the NFL could further take away the validity of the event and rosters, but now that they’ve done it, it’s almost impressive. 

Even without being able to replace anyone, Brown had a stronger case than some players on the NFC roster. 

Quinnien Williams being named a Pro Bowler over Brown was one of the more surprising outcomes; Williams was traded to Dallas midway through the year, and while he should help make their interior better moving forward, he wasn’t better than Derrick Brown.

Williams had 26 solo tackles, Brown had 33, Williams had two and a half sacks, Brown had five. Which is not only more than Williams ' but also more than the Eagles’ Jalen Carter, who has two sacks on the season. Not only does Brown have a better case than others, but he was also third in fan voting. 

Quarterback is the most important position in football, that’s a given, but if there’s going to be replacements for the QBs, and ones who didn’t even play well, then there’s no reason that a defensive lineman who had a career year shouldn’t be able to replace any injured players at the position. 

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Preston Palm
PRESTON PALM

Preston is an experienced sports writer focusing on NFL, College Football, NBA, and MMA topics. He is a passionate Charlotte and Oklahoma sports fan and graduated from the University of Science and Arts Oklahoma in 2025 with a Bachelor of Arts in Communications degree with a focus in journalism.

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