Category: c3

The Seattle Seahawks had to know that Abe Lucas had a knee problem when they drafted him in the third round out of Washington State. They decided to roll the dice anyway, hoping that Lucas would grow out of the problem and develop into a Pro Bowl level right tackle for them. For a minute there it seemed like they had gotten the job done, as Lucas had a promising rookie season opposite fellow rookie left tackle Charles Cross.

However, since the 2022 campaign Lucas’ knee issue has become a recurring and ongoing problem for the Seahawks. Last season he was forced to sit out 11 games, and in the meantime the right tackle spot became a carousel of bad blocking and penalties. This year Lucas underwent surgery in January and his recovery time forced him to sit out the first half of the season, while once again the position became a liability.

Mia B shares the facts about Geno Smith’s number ‘NFL Slimetime’

While he hasn’t actually missed a game since returning to the lineup, Lucas has been showing up on the injury report with the knee issue more often than not. On Wednesday’s injury report for the Seahawks Lucas was listed as a non-participant with the knee and an abdominal injury, as well.

It wouldn’t be a stretch to think that the knee injury is affecting his work on the field. While Cross has blossomed into a top-10 tackle, Lucas is currently ranked 70th at his position according to the Pro Football Focus grades. He’s earned mediocre grades in pass blocking (62.8) and run blocking (65.7).

In a perfect world Lucas would fully recover from his knee issue with another offseason, but the Seahawks definitely can’t bank on that. They might want to use one of their picks in the 2025 NFL draft on a prospect who could potentially replace Lucas in the lineup.

If you’ve been following the Lions closely this season, you’ll notice there is one very notable name missing from that group of seven. That’s right, safety Kerby Joseph is not one of the Lions voted to the Pro Bowl, which is an egregious snub.

Here’s what we wrote on Joseph in a previous article that very clearly shows he should have made the cut.

Joseph leads the NFL with nine interceptions and his 12 passes defensed are tied for second among safeties behind teammate Brian Branch. Joseph also sports the highest Pro Football Focus overall (90.7) and coverage (91.5) grades at the position, and the 13th-best run defense grade (82.6).

When it comes to raw coverage totals, Joseph is having an elite season there, also. Among safeties who have played 80% of coverage snaps this season, Joseph ranks second in completion rate allowed (59.3) and seventh in passer rating, per PFF.

The wild thing about Joseph being snubbed is that it was a result of the players and coaches portion of the Pro Bowl vote, which counts as one-third each. Among fans, Joseph was the leading vote-getter at free safety.

Joseph was one of 11 other Lions to be voted in as an alternate, a list that includes wide receiver Kalif Raymond (return specialst), tight end Sam LaPorta, kicker Jake Bates, guard Kevin Zeitler, defensive lineman Alim McNeill, running back David Montgomery, left tackle Taylor Decker, guard Graham Glasgow, linebacker Jack Campbell and defensive lineman D.J. Reader.

The Lions’ seven selections were the most among NFC teams, with the Minnesota Vikings and Philadelphia Eagles being the next closest teams with six. Only the Baltimore Ravens (nine) had more Pro Bowlers.

The honor is well-deserved for both, really, but especially for the 2024 first-round pick, who is having a historic rookie campaign. Entering Week 18, Bowers has 108 receptions for 1,144 yards and four touchdowns. His receptions rank third among all pass-catchers and first among tight ends, and his yardage ranks seventh and first, respectively.

As if all that wasn’t impressive enough by itself, Bowers has broken multiple major rookie records. He now owns the all-time marks for most receptions by a rookie tight end and pass-catcher overall, and the most receiving yards by a rookie tight end, breaking a record that stood for over 60 years.

Bowers also surpassed the franchise record for most receptions by a Raiders pass-catcher last week, a mark previously held by former Las Vegas tight end Darren Waller, who had 107 in 2020.

Making Bowers’ numbers even more impressive is the fact that he had to overcome shoddy quarterback play all season. Just imagine what he could’ve done if he had consistently competent quarterback play.

Crosby saw his season cut short due to an ankle injury that plagued him for much of the campaign. He still managed to tally 7.5 sacks in 12 games, while also adding five passes defensed, 45 tackles, 17 tackles for loss and 20 QB hits.

The Raiders were tied for 16th in the NFL with their two Pro Bowlers. 10 teams had one or none.

Thanks to his injury, we wouldn’t expect to see Crosby taking part in the 2025 Pro Bowl Games, which take place in Orlando and begin on Jan. 30. We do, however, expect to see Bowers taking part, assuming he doesn’t get hurt in Week 18.

The Pittsburgh Steelers will have multiple question marks at the quarterback position going into the 2025 offseason, as they have yet to lock down their starter and backup for next season.

The expectation is that the Steelers will stick with Russell Wilson as the starter in 2025 after he has proven to be an upgrade. But doing that will likely spell the end of Justin Fields’ tenure in Pittsburgh, as he’ll probably seek out a place where he has a chance to start. Fellow backup Kyle Allen is also set to be a free agent.

Bengals vs. Steelers preview Week 18

In a recent article predicting landing spots for several quarterbacks, CBS Sports’ Cody Benjamin believes the Steelers will re-sign Wilson and bring in Kansas City Chiefs backup Carson Wentz as insurance.

Benjamin projects Wilson to land a two-year, $50 million deal with Pittsburgh. As for Wentz, Benjamin didn’t give a contract projection, but we would expect him to land a deal similar to the one he has now, which is one year, $3.3 million.

A former No. 2 overall pick, Wentz once looked like he would be the long-term answer under center for the Eagles, which netted him a massive four-year, $128 million deal in 2019. However, injuries and ineffective play have since derailed Wentz’s once-promising career.

Since then, he’s served as a starter for the Indianapolis Colts, which didn’t work out. After that, Wentz has spent stints with the Washington Commanders, Los Angeles Rams, and now the Chiefs.

While Wentz’s best days are long behind him, he would amount to a serviceable backup in Pittsburgh. He is more than capable of weathering the storm if Wilson were to get hurt.

Playing for the Steelers might be appealing to Wentz because of the opportunity to play under offensive coordinator Arthur Smith, assuming he doesn’t land a head-coach gig elsewhere. Smith has a proven track record of reviving the careers of down-and-out quarterbacks like Wilson in Pittsburgh, and Ryan Tannehill in Tennessee.

The Steelers should look to keep Fields in Pittsburgh in 2025, but if that proves to be impossible, Wentz would be a solid secondary option to back Wilson up.

The rosters do not include alternates thus far. These would be players who take over for an announced Pro Bowl representative who either chooses not to participate, is injured, or whose team makes the Super Bowl. There will be plenty of roster shuffling over the next few weeks, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t initial players who were snubbed from being named a Pro Bowler.

Here are the top snubs for the 2025 Pro Bowl.

NFL HQ: Live NFL scores | Updated NFL standings | Full NFL schedule

Pro Bowl snubs 2025
Baker Mayfield
Team: Buccaneers
Position: Quarterback
Mayfield should be a Pro Bowler. He is in a smaller market with the Buccaneers and spent some of the season without his top two wide receivers, Mike Evans and Chris Godwin. Tampa Bay has a 9-7 record heading into the season’s final week, sitting atop a middling NFC South.

Mayfield has the third-most passing yards (4,279), is tied for the second-most touchdown passes (39) and has the fourth-highest passer rating (107.6) in the league. Yes, Sam Darnold and Jared Goff are both deserving, but Mayfield likely deserves to be in over rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels. Including the rookie will likely get more eyes on the Pro Bowl Games, but Mayfield was very deserving and should, at minimum, be an alternate should any of the starting three opt out.

As general manager Chris Ballard concludes his eighth season with a 61-69-1 record, one anonymous player had no issues ripping the direction of the team, according to Zak Keefer and James Boyd of The Athletic.

“There’s no vision,” the anonymous player told The Athletic. “From the top down — from the front office, to the coaches, to the players — no one is ever on the same page, and every year at the end, we’re sitting here losing. If you look at the best teams in the league, they all have a vision, and they commit to it. The Chiefs keep winning because they have a vision. The Lions turned things around because they have a vision.

“There’s no vision here.”

Losing on the football field is one thing. Losing the locker room is a death knell for regimes.

It’s clear the culture the Colts have tried to build throughout Ballard’s eight seasons is not working. It’s a losing culture that constantly fails toward the end of the season when the stakes are raised.

They haven’t won the division in 11 seasons. Their last playoff win came when Andrew Luck was still the quarterback. They haven’t reached the postseason in four consecutive campaigns.

It will be interesting to see what happens to this regime when the regular season concludes this week but if players are comfortable going to the media in this fashion — even anonymously — it typically signals that the locker room is lost.