On Wednesday evening, the NFL Pro Bowl rosters were announced, and two Chicago Bears players made the list. Defensive end Montez Sweat and cornerback Jaylon Johnson both made their first Pro Bowl after having career years that helped turn the Bears defense into a formidable unit.
Sweat has transformed the Bears defensive line with his tenacious style of play, which includes 12.5 sacks and 13 tackles for loss across the year for both Chicago and the Washington Commanders. Johnson, meanwhile, finally broke through in his fourth season with four interceptions and became the highest-graded cornerback in the league, according to PFF. Both players are deserving of this honor and will represent the Bears in Orlando on February 4th in the Pro Bowl games.
While it’s great to see Sweat and Johnson get their flowers, quite a few other Bears players made strong cases to get named to the Pro Bowl as well. Here are five players we think were snubbed from this year’s honor.
If any Bears player has a gripe about not making the Pro Bowl, it’s DJ Moore. The wide receiver has had a stellar first season in Chicago after coming over from the Panthers in the Bryce Young trade, already setting career highs in yards (1,300) and touchdowns (eight). Moore has been one of the highest-producing receivers in the NFC, totaling more yards than Mike Evans and more touchdowns than Puka Nakua and AJ Brown, all of whom made the roster over him.
Another player who hit the ground running in his first season with the Bears is linebacker TJ Edwards, who has already proved to be worth the investment after signing as a free agent. Edwards looks like the second coming of Lance Briggs when he’s on the field, as he flies to the gap and sidelines to lay punishing hits on ball carriers. He’s been one of the league leaders in tackles for most of the season, but he also has three interceptions, seven pass deflections, and one forced fumble. It’s a shame the NFL only added two inside linebackers to the list, because Edwards is just as deserving to be named to the Pro Bowl as Bobby Wagner and Fred Warner.
It’s been a long, strange journey for Teven Jenkins, as he’s moved from one position to another every year he’s been in the league. But he’s found a home at guard and seems to lock up defensive linemen no matter which side he’s on. Jenkins has allowed just one sack all year and has a PFF grade of 74.9. That’s better than both Landon Dickerson and Zack Martin, who both made the roster over him. The biggest thing that likely hurt Jenkins were his injuries. He missed five games this year. But still, he deserves the recognition for the play he’s had all season.
Jaquan Brisker hasn’t had the most complete season, but like the Bears defense, he’s come on strong over the second half of the year. Brisker built on his impressive rookie campaign with a solid sophomore year, totaling 97 tackles (two for a loss), one interceptions, nine pass breakups, and two forced fumbles. 17 of those 97 tackles came in one game when Brisker went berserk against the Detroit Lions. Those season totals weren’t enough to get him to the Pro Bowl, though, despite being better than Cardinals safety Budda Baker in almost every category.
If not for Brandon Aubrey, Cairo Santos might be dancing his way down to Orlando. The Cowboys kicker was sensational in his rookie season, which overshadowed Santos’ own successes as he narrowly missed the Pro Bowl as well. Santos was second to Aubrey in field goals attempted and converted in the NFC. The only problem was that Aubrey was perfect (35 for 35), while Santos missed three kicks, one of which was a desperate attempt at the end of the half. There should be two kickers from each conference. The more, the merrier.
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