Jalen Hurts' Third Pro Bowl Highlights a Broken System: Why NFL Alternates Shouldn't Count

Jalen Hurts has been elevated to the Pro Bowl for the third time in his career, a well-deserved honor for the Eagles' Super Bowl-winning quarterback. But the celebration comes with an asterisk — not because of Hurts, but because of the company he keeps.

Shedeur Sanders is also heading to the Pro Bowl Games. Yes, that Shedeur Sanders — the one who was part of what Jeff Kerr described as "probably the worst quarterback competition I've ever seen" in Cleveland this past summer.

The Browns Quarterback Competition That Tells You Everything

Kerr dropped a damning statistic on Birds 365 that perfectly encapsulates the absurdity of the current Pro Bowl system.

I tweeted this the other day. The Browns had a quarterback competition this summer and John and I got to witness it with Joe Flacco, Kenny Pickett, Dylan Gabriel, and Shedeur Sanders. Two of those quarterbacks made the Pro Bowl. It was probably the worst quarterback competition I've ever seen. — Jeff Kerr

Let that sink in. A quarterback room so thin that it featured a 41-year-old journeyman, an injury-prone former first-round bust, a rookie mid-round pick, and a former first-round pick still searching for consistency — and two of those players ended up as Pro Bowlers. The system is broken beyond repair.

McMullen's Fix: Draw the Line at Alternates

John McMullen has a straightforward solution, and it is one he has advocated for years.

I'm of the belief you shouldn't be able to call somebody a Pro Bowl selection if they're an alternate. The guys who are named to the Pro Bowl are Pro Bowl selections. And if you get there as an alternate, you play in the Pro Bowl Games. That's how I would do it. — John McMullen

The logic is airtight. When players like Tyler Huntley and Shedeur Sanders earn Pro Bowl honors simply because better quarterbacks declined to participate, it cheapens the achievement for legitimate selections like Hurts. Is it six Pro Bowl quarterbacks or is it three? Nobody seems to know anymore.

A Game That Has 'Run Its Course'

The Pro Bowl has been in decline for decades. Kerr recalled watching Donovan McNabb throw deep balls to DeSean Jackson in the Pro Bowl game 15 or 16 years ago and thinking even then that the product was terrible. Since then, the NFL has tried team drafts, brought back the AFC-NFC format, moved the game from Hawaii, and replaced the actual game with skills competitions.

The Pro Bowl's just run its course. — Jeff Kerr

McMullen traced the fundamental problem back to football's inherent violence. Unlike baseball or basketball All-Star games, where the risk of serious injury is minimal, football players cannot meaningfully compete without exposing themselves to danger.

Kerr even reminded listeners of the Sean Taylor incident — when the late Pro Bowl safety delivered a vicious hit on punter Brian Moorman during the Pro Bowl game, a moment that perfectly illustrated why players do not want to participate.

What Hurts' Selection Actually Means

Despite the flawed system, Hurts' third Pro Bowl nod is significant. He is the reigning Super Bowl champion, and his selection — even as an alternate elevated to the roster — reflects his standing among the league's elite quarterbacks. McMullen and Krause both agreed that Hurts' pedigree earned him the spot, even if the mechanism for getting there was imperfect.

The bigger question is whether the NFL will ever address the systemic issues that make the honor feel hollow. McMullen wrote a column roughly 15 years ago advocating to "keep the honor, get rid of the game." The NFL has since gotten rid of the game (in its traditional format) but has failed to protect the honor.

Until the league draws a clear line between initial selections and alternates, every Pro Bowl announcement will come with the same caveat: congratulations, but it does not mean what it used to.