The NFL revealed rosters for the 2024 Pro Bowl Games this week and, as usual, there were several notable snubs. Some of the most obvious were Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen and Tampa Bay Buccaneers safety Antoine Winfield Jr.
The absence of Winfield Jr. is perhaps the most glaring given his dominance this season. He is third among all safeties with 117 tackles and his 90.7 Pro Football Focus grade is second behind only Jessie Bates III (90.8).
By all accounts and measures, Winfield Jr. should have received a Pro Bowl nod. Instead, he was ninth overall in fan voting (for safeties) and then left off the roster entirely when coach and player voting was tallied.
Winfield Jr. wasn’t the only person agitated with the snub.
Antoine Winfield Sr., a former first-round pick who spent 15 years in the NFL and was named to three Pro Bowls himself, raged over Arizona Cardinals safety Budda Baker getting the nod over his son.
“WE DEMAND A RECOUNT,” Winfield Sr. wrote on Instagram, via Greg Auman. “NFL somebody has some explaining to do!!! Aint’ NO WAY in HELL Buddha Baker goes to the Pro Bowl ahead of My lil man with NO STATS. I know how important ProBowls are on the Resume & it just so happens to be his Contract year. We ain’t going for the B—–t. Somebody Need to Holla at me.”
Winfield Sr. isn’t an unbiased observer but that doesn’t make him wrong. Statistically and analytically, Winfield Jr. is having a better season than Baker. But the Pro Bowl is a popularity contest and a bad one at that, as suggested by retired defensive lineman Damon “Snacks” Harrison earlier this week.
Even if NFL rookies overlooked Winfield Jr., it’s curious that fans and coaches did as well.
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