The Philadelphia Eagles are headed to the Super Bowl, which opens the door for two Detroit Lions to now be Pro Bowlers.
The Detroit Lions have to build on their winning season in 2022 to gain more league-wide respect. This year’s Pro Bowl selections proved it, with center Frank Ragnow the only Lion elected initially.
But every year Pro Bowlers bow out of making the trip, due to an injury (real or not ever reported) or pure desire to not go after a long season. Pro Bowlers from the teams who end up in the Super Bowl are not allowed to go, obviously.
The Philadelphia Eagles are headed to Super Bowl LVII after beating the San Francisco 49ers 31-7 on Sunday. So offensive tackle Lane Johnson and wide receiver A.J. Brown are not going to be going to Las Vegas for the re-imagined Pro Bowl games next weekend, and they will need to replaced.
Two Detroit Lions lined up to go to the Pro Bowl now
Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown and right tackle Penei Sewell were named first alternates when the Pro Bowl teams were selected. So they are first up to replace someone at their respective positions. So they will now be going to Vegas next weekend, though they could decline the invitation.
Official news has not come as of this writing about St. Brown and Sewell being Pro Bowlers, but it should be coming.
Update:
Congrats @amonra_stbrown & @peneisewell58 on being named to the 2023 #ProBowlGames 👏👏👏
— Detroit Lions (@Lions) January 30, 2023
Sewell has become an instant building block for the Lions, and one of the best right tackles in the NFL. This will surely not be his first trip to a Pro Bowl, though it might be the last time he’s not among the initial selections for awhile.
St. Brown, despite missing a game and being limited in a couple others by injuries this season, had 106 receptions for 1,161 yards and six touchdowns this season. He had a solid case to be among the initial NFC Pro Bowl receivers, and now he’ll get to go and participate in place of Brown.