Is Mac Jones playing in the Pro Bowl?
The Patriots announced on Twitter yesterday that their rookie quarterback, Mac Jones, will be playing in the 2022 Pro Bowl game as an alternate.
#ProBowl bound!
Congratulations, @MacJones_10: bit.ly/3ARw68b
Jones got the call after some of the AFC’s quarterbacks opted out of playing. Justin Herbert, Patrick Mahomes and Lamar Jackson were the three AFC QBs voted to the Pro Bowl, but Jackson bowed out due to injury. First alternate Josh Allen also declined his invite, and second alternate Joe Burrow will be playing in Super Bowl LVI the following week against the Rams. This will mark his first Pro Bowl appearance.
Mac Jones' success as a rookie
Mac Jones was drafted 15th overall in the 2021 NFL draft by the New England Patriots. Jones was the fifth quarterback taken in the draft, behind Trevor Lawrence, Zach Wilson, Trey Lance, and Justin Fields. Jones had, without question, the best rookie season of any quarterback.
He was the last quarterback taken in the first-round, but he the only one who made the playoffs. Yes, it helps when Bill Belichick is your head coach and when you're drafted to a team that was coming off of a 7-9 season (2020), but he had quite the rookie season.
He started all 17 games as a rookie this season, and he piled up an impressive 10-7 record. He threw for an impressive 67.6 pecent completing 352 out of 521 passing attempts. He threw 22 touchdowns to just 13 interceptions while throwing for 3,801 yards. He added 129 rushing yards to the season, and he led all rookie quarterbacks in yards, touchdowns, and completion percentage.
Mac Jones finished eighth in the NFL in completion percentage, 13th in passing yards and 14th in passing touchdowns. @PFF had him ranked No. 12 at QB.
Overall, he had one of the best seasons for a rookie QB in NFL history. Pro Bowl in Year 1 would be quite the achievement. twitter.com/MikeReiss/stat…
Other Pro Bowl replacements
As the Bengals and Rams made it to the Super Bowl, there have been a few more Pro Bowl roster changes. A few other players in the league have made it, but some declined to go, causing more replacements to fill in for the Pro Bowl. Steelers' rookie running back, Najee Harris, will replace Bengals' Joe Mixon, and Steelers' Diontae Johnson will be replace Bengals' Ja'Marr Chase.
Kirk Cousins will replace Aaron Rodgers as he elected to decline his Pro Bowl invite. Eagles' Jake Elliot will be replacing Rams' kicker Matt Gay as the NFC's kicker for the Pro Bowl as an alternate. Other players to make it as replacements are Raiders' Hunter Renfrow, Cowboys' CeeDee Lamb, Panthers' Stephon Gilmore, Bucs' Vita Vea, and Cardinals' DJ Humphries.
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