The Chicago Bears have zero players in the Pro Bowl this season
The Chicago Bears roster is filled with blooming young talent, undrafted free agents, and other fluff this season. The Bears are in rebuild mode as they put together a 53-man roster where 40 percent of their salary cap had to be allocated for dead cap. It makes sense why there wouldn’t be many players from the Bears that would make this season’s Pro Bowl. Roquan Smith made it only after being traded from Chicago. However, one Bears player is upset after being screwed over by an archaic NFL policy.
The Bears had a few players that deserved consideration. Quarterback Justin Fields is one of the hottest quarterbacks in the NFC. He will break more rushing records at the quarterback position if the Bears continue to start him for the rest of the season. Teven Jenkins has been great at right guard. Eddie Jackson has had a phenomenal comeback year for the Bears at safety. And he’s irate that he was knocked off the Pro Bowl block.
Jackson wrote Tweeted his frustrations when the Pro Bowl list was released by the NFL Wednesday:
“How somebody miss 6 games but still make pro bowl I miss two games so far but taking off ballot”
The Tweet by Jackson has since been deleted. Jackson was alluding to Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker T.J. Watt, who made the Pro Bowl after missing six weeks early in the season.
Jackson should be upset
The NFL has a policy to take players who are on injured reserve off the Pro Bowl ballot. It’s an illogical and unfair rule for NFL players. Jackson busted his chops off for most of the season, only to be punished by the NFL for having a late-season injury. The NFL rewarded Watt for having an early season injury.
It’s not just about Jackson being able to brag that he won a Pro Bowl selection. The NFL is slapping Jackson and other NFL athletes when they’re injured right in their pocketbooks. That’s not something the NFL needs to be in the business of; they have a long history of financially taking advantage of injured athletes. According to Michael Rothstein with ESPN, NFL players average an extra $2.2 million for making the Pro Bowl due to escalators and other bonuses.
And for what purpose does taking Jackson off the ballot serve? Players who earn selections often miss the game due to injury, playing in the Super Bowl, or personal choice. The NFL brings in reserves for the game every year. Taking players off the ballot because of being on the injured reserve is a policy that needs to be put to rest. Or the NFL should enact a policy that only non-injured players in a season are eligible for the Pro Bowl. After an 18-week NFL season, good luck not bringing on guys from the practice squad.
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