The Cleveland Browns had a tough season in 2025, and without any clear answers at quarterback or head coach, the future is filled with unknowns. It’s going to be a very interesting offseason for the Cleveland Browns, but one piece of news was just released that may make Browns fans happy.
In a shocking turn of events, the NFL has decided to add Browns rookie Shedeur Sanders to the Pro Bowl roster.
Shedeur Sanders Has Been Named to the AFC Pro Bowl Roster, but How?
With less than a week until the event, the league needed to fill roster spots previously held by players from the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks. This was because each team won this past weekend and will be on their way to the Super Bowl in two weeks.
Before today, Patriots QB Drake Maye, Buffalo Bills QB Josh Allen, and Los Angeles Chargers QB Justin Herbert were the three QBs listed on the AFC’s Pro Bowl roster. With Maye going to the Super Bowl, his spot needed to be filled, hence why Sanders had the opportunity to be named to the roster. Still, there was more that led to Sanders being the NFL’s choice:
The AFC’s Pro Bowl QBs were Drake Maye, Josh Allen, and Justin Herbert.
Maye is going to the Super Bowl. The other two are banged up. We’ll see if they stay.
Bo Nix got injured.
Patrick Mahomes is injured.
Daniel Jones is injured.That’s how it trickles down to Shedeur… https://t.co/YdPE9vv4cd
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) January 26, 2026
As NFL insider Ari Meirov lays out, Denver Broncos QB Bo Nix, Kansas City Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes, and Indianapolis Colts QB Daniel Jones are all injured. All three of these options could have, and probably would have, been the names the NFL chose from, but instead, this honor went to Sanders.
Looking at other options the NFL had, even with the three QBs above being injured, it’s hard to argue that Sanders was more deserving. One player in particular who jumps out is Jacksonville Jaguars QB Trevor Lawrence.
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His team was 13-4, and Lawrence is a league MVP nominee. Using PFSN’s QB Impact Metric, we can see that he is ranked 16th overall among all QBs this season, while Sanders is ranked 46th.
48 NFL quarterbacks qualified for PFSN’s QB Impact metric in 2025.
Shedeur Sanders ranked 46th, with a 56.9 grade. 🤔 https://t.co/6FfjfekyY0 pic.twitter.com/VsBVvbQlDS
— PFSN (@PFSN365) January 26, 2026
Apart from Lawrence, other AFC quarterbacks like Cam Ward, C.J. Stroud, Lamar Jackson, Joe Burrow, and Aaron Rodgers also had a better case to make the Pro Bowl over Sanders. However, it is possible that none of them were willing or healthy enough to participate in the games this year.
Moreover, Sanders is one of the most popular players in the league. Having him at the event before the Super Bowl would directly increase viewership, which would ultimately boost revenue, and that is exactly what the league wants, especially when it comes to the Pro Bowl.
Looking at this from Cleveland’s perspective, Browns fans around the country should be happy about having a Pro Bowl QB on their roster, and Sanders should be proud about the honor. This may be something that the new Browns HC takes into consideration when deciding who the QB will be next season.
