Being voted to the Pro Bowl used to mean something in the National Football League. At the highest level of football, which includes nearly 1,700 players across 32 rosters, only the best of the best received Pro Bowl honors. But those days are clearly behind us, and Pittsburgh Steelers fans can only laugh at the latest selection.
On Monday, NFL insider Jordan Schultz announced that Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders has been named as a Pro Bowl alternate.
At first, I had to do a double-take. Was this for real? Shedeur Sanders—the same quarterback who looked flat-out cringeworthy during half of his seven performances in 2025?
It's true. With the New England Patriots advancing to the Super Bowl, Pro Bowl reserve quarterback Drake Maye will need a replacement. Sanders joins Josh Allen and Justin Herbert as the third QB representing the AFC in the Pro Bowl games this year.
What a disgrace.
Pittsburgh Steelers fans know Browns QB Shedeur Sanders is an undeserving Pro Bowl selection
This still feels like a joke. In seven starts with the Cleveland Browns, Sanders led his team to a 3-4 record while throwing for seven touchdowns and 10 interceptions. The fifth-round rookie completed just 56.6 percent of his passes for a dismal 5.14 adjusted yards per attempt.
Sanders failed to consistently move the chains on offense, and his team put up more than 20 points just twice in seven contests. As a result of his efforts, Sanders earned a dismal 68.1 passer rating and a cringeworthy 18.9 QBR on the season, per Pro Football Reference.
Somehow, these egregiously disgusting numbers didn't prevent the Browns' quarterback from reaching the Pro Bowl.
Practically every other selection from the AFC would have been a better choice—including Aaron Rodgers, who at least led the Pittsburgh Steelers to a 10-6 record as a starter (Mason Rudolph started one game in 2025).
Was every other AFC quarterback busy? Did they all decline the invitation to San Francisco? Because that's the only thing that seems to make sense for Sanders finding his way into the Pro Bowl.
Fans stopped taking the Pro Bowl seriously when Baltimore Ravens quarterback Tyler Huntley was named as a Pro Bowl alternate after the 2022 season. In 2023, the NFL swapped out the Pro Bowl we once knew for 'The Pro Bowl Games'—a series of competitions, highlighted by a seven-on-seven flag football game.
It's not Shedeur Sanders' fault that he was chosen as a Pro Bowl replacement for MVP candidate Drake Maye, and I feel bad for all of the negative publicity that will come his way as a result. Still, the league should know what they just got themselves into, and Pittsburgh Steelers fans can only laugh at what a joke these so-called 'Pro Bowl' honors have become.