Baker Mayfield, Danielle Hunter among players left out

A snub is in the eye of the beholder.

Now that the 2025 Pro Bowl Games rosters have been announced, discussion and debate about players from both conferences will abound. Some will be dismayed at an omission from the Games. Others will take solace in the fact that a certain player or two finally got some deserved attention. Everyone has their own list – it’s only natural.

With 88 total spots split between two conferences and each position limited, it’s impossible for every worthy player to be honored. There is a zero percent chance that everyone has the same 88 names. That’s why “snub” lists like this one exist.

When I take up this endeavor again, I personally feel less offended by players left out. Instead, I’d like to take this opportunity to highlight the men who have had outstanding years and may have just missed the cut. Some on my list will be more deviant than others. Played off “who would you replace” is completely unfair to the talented players who did have their names on the initial lists. It is not necessary either. This is an all-star event for fun, not a cabinet position — and a number of players on the initial roster will be replaced, some due to the Super Bowl, others due to injuries or other reasons.

Before I get to my list, know that there is one name you won’t see below, and you can consider him a grabbed snub if you must: Patrick Mahomes.

The quarterback of the No. 1-seeded Chiefs have basically been a shoo-in for the Pro Bowl, earning a nod in every season since he became the team’s starter in 2018. Given Mahomes’ standing as back-to-back Super Bowl MVP If you lead Kansas City to a 15-1 record, you can easily make a case for him to be a Pro Bowler again in 2025. Still, standards outside the win column — which Mahomes would probably say is all that he worries about – this has been a bad year for world talent.

With Mahomes set to sit out a Week 18 contest against the Broncos that is meaningless to the Chiefs, he will have set career lows (back to 2018) in passing yards (3,928), completion rate (50.7%, per Pro Football Reference), yards per attempts (6.8) and yards per game (245.5), while posting his lowest mark in TD passes (26). For most QBs, those numbers would be fine, if not outstanding. For Mahomes, they are just ok. That makes his ability to deliver clutch plays in the crucible of big moments all the more impressive.

Mahomes’ omission also speaks to the insane level at which Josh Allen, Joe Burrow and Lamar Jackson are currently playing. Allen leads a gritty Bills offense with both his arms and legs. He’s creating fewer negative plays (and taking just 14 sacks so far) than ever before. Burrow leads virtually every statistical category and would likely be MVP if not for the sieve-like defense holding Cincinnati back. And Jackson is having a better season than he did in 2023, when he earned his second career MVP.

I wouldn’t begrudge anyone who insists that leaving out the QB on a 15-1 club is a revelation; Mahomes simply didn’t make my list this season.