Surprise!
The Pittsburgh Steelers got some surprising news on Tuesday, as quarterback Russell Wilson was officially named to the 2025 Pro Bowl Games as an alternate in place of Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen.
This marks Wilson’s 10th Pro Bowl over 13 NFL seasons and first since 2021 — his final season with the Seattle Seahawks. He now joins Cincinnati Bengals QB Joe Burrow and New England Patriots rookie QB Drake Maye (a replacement for Lamar Jackson) in representing the AFC in the annual Pro Bowl Games. And though it’s an exciting feat to make the Pro Bowl, it’s still worth wondering just how much the honor actually means in the grand scheme of things.
Wilson’s 2024 campaign may have surpassed some of the very low expectations the media and most fans had alike, but his four-game skid to close the year and 6-5 overall record still left plenty to be desired. Moon balls aside, Wilson ranked outside the top 10 in terms of yards per attempt (7.5), NFL passer rating (97.7) and completion percentage (64.1%) — not a campaign to write home about, even if it the late-season struggles on offense weren’t 100% his fault (lack of weapons, regression on the o-line, etc.). At least Wilson was only an alternate.
But even when it came to the original Pro Bowl rosters, there were some question marks about just how seriously fans should take the accolade. Take, for instance, Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Zay Flowers, who was named to his first Pro Bowl after posting an admirable 74-1,059-4 campaign. He was selected over Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr., who tallied 87 catches for 1,282 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns catching passes from an injured Trevor Lawrence and Mac Jones.
Back in 2022 was, perhaps, the most egregious Pro Bowl nomination we’ve seen to this point, as Ravens backup quarterback Tyler Huntley was named an alternate, going 2-2 in relief of an injured Lamar Jackson, totaling 658 passing yards, 2 TD and 3 INT over four games.
In short, it’s cool. But did Wilson actually post a Pro Bowl performance? Not really. Hopefully, as BTSC contributor Mike Nicastro speculates, this isn’t a budding excuse to get him back under contract in 2025 and beyond.
I cannot wait for the #Steelers to use the “Russell Wilson was a Pro-Bowl QB” line to justify them keeping him.
— Mike Nicastro (@MikedUpSports1) January 28, 2025
Pro Bowl selections are made by compiling votes from fans, players and coaches, and given that the voting process began on Monday, Nov. 25, when Wilson stood with a 4-1 record, it’s possible his nomination as an alternate came from some of those early voting numbers. There’s no doubt that this Pro Bowl for Wilson has the largest asterisk of all.