Getty The NFL disrespected one of Mike Tomlin's defenders for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Multiple sources reported on January 27 that Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker T.J. Watt has opted out of the Pro Bowl festivities because of injury. Watt has no new ailments, but he has reportedly elected to rest his body rather than play a meaningless flag football contest.
The NFL shouldn’t have gone too far to find Watt’s Pro Bowl replacement because Steelers linebacker Alex Highsmith was an obvious choice to be Watt’s replacement on the AFC Pro Bowl Roster.
But instead, Buffalo Bills linebacker Matt Milano will take Watt’s place.
Steelers OLB T.J. Watt decided to drop out of the Pro Bowl due to an injury. Actually, it’s just him letting his body heal from the season. No new injury.
He will be replaced by Buffalo’s Matt Milano, not Alex Highsmith.
T.J. Watt won’t participate in Pro Bowl activities this year. No new injuries. He’s just resting after a long year that included overcoming a pec injury.
Flawed Pro Bowl Positions Permit Milano to Replace Watt on Pro Bowl Roster
Before diving any further into this argument, it needs to be made clear that Highsmith’s snub has nothing to do with Milano. The Bills linebacker had a terrific year and made first-team All-Pro. He should have already been on the Pro Bowl roster.
But to replace Watt with Milano was a error in judgement for multiple reasons. For one, those two linebackers don’t play the same position.
Watt lined up as an edge rusher along the defensive line on about 96% of his defensive snaps in 2022 according to Pro Football Focus.
Meanwhile, Milano is a traditional off-the-ball linebacker. He lined up in a variety of areas on defense this past season, but he was an edge rusher along the defensive line on under 10% of his snaps.
The Pro Bowl grouping all linebackers together as the same position is archaic. Watt and Milano do not play the same position, and therefore, Milano should not be a eligible replacement for Watt (or any edge rusher opting out of the Pro Bowl).
Highsmith Snubbed for Pro Bowl Honor
Again, Milano should have already been on the AFC Pro Bowl roster as an inside linebacker. But Highsmith should have been on the roster too.
Seven defenders recorded more than 12.5 sacks in the NFL season, and Highsmith was the only one of them not to receive a Pro Bowl nomination. The only other player to not make the Pro Bowl who finished the campaign Top 10 in sacks was Arizona Cardinals defensive end J.J. Watt.
On top of that, Highsmith was tied for the NFL lead with 5 forced fumbles. He also had 63 combined tackles, 12 tackles for loss and 20 quarterback hits.
Highsmith’s 14.5 sacks were 9 more than what Watt recorded during the 2022 season. Granted, Watt missed 7 games with injuries which will now prevent him from appearing at the Pro Bowl.
But the Pro Bowl should honor the players who had the best seasons, not the ones with the most talent on paper. Across the board, Highsmith had a better year than Watt.
Highsmith not getting the recognition he deserved can probably be explained from the fact three or four other Steelers defenders were bigger names nationally before the season began. In his first two NFL seasons, Highsmith had just 8.0 sacks and 1 forced fumble.
The Steelers defense also didn’t have a banner year, and the team didn’t make the postseason. Pro Bowl nominations are also heavily based on the first couple months of the season, and while Highsmith played well at the beginning of the year, the Steelers did not.
If Highsmith can repeat his 2022 success again next season, he should have a much greater chance of being named to the Pro Bowl.