Unsurprisingly, the 2-14 Carolina Panthers did not have a single player named to the NFC Pro Bowl Games squad. But they do have a handful of understudies.
As announced on Wednesday night, four Panthers have been named alternates for this year’s all-star festivities—defensive tackle Derrick Brown, outside linebacker Brian Burns, punter Johnny Hekker and long snapper JJ Jansen.
Brown, who is a first alternate, may stand as one of the conference’s biggest snubs. The fourth-year wrecking ball currently leads all players at his position in run stop win rate (48 percent) and stops (48), and is only three takedowns away from setting a new single-season tackles record for a defensive lineman.
Interim head coach Chris Tabor spoke about Brown earlier today.
“Oh, I think he’s havin’ a heck of a year,” Tabor said. “What is he? Three tackles short of 100? I mean, think about that. That position, and to have the opportunity to get over 100 tackles.
“I’ve said it for weeks—I don’t call him ‘DB,’ I call him ‘Pro Bowler.'”
Burns, a starter for the NFC in 2022 and 2023, is a second alternate while Hekker and Jansen are third alternates.
