Tennessee Titans punter Ryan Stonehouse has been snubbed for a Pro Bowl spot not once, but twice now after he wasn’t chosen as the replacement for Kansas City Chiefs punter, Tommy Townsend.
Townsend originally received the nod over Stonehouse, who was named as a replacement. But Stonehouse wasn’t even the top replacement, apparently, as Las Vegas Raiders punter AJ Cole will be taking Townsend’s spot now that he’s in the Super Bowl.
One Pro Bowl snub was bad, but two is just completely unacceptable. After all, Stonehouse had a historic season, breaking the 82-year-old gross yards per punt record by a whopping 1.7 yards, and he did so as a rookie.
The net-yards bros will tell you he didn’t deserve it over Townsend because he finished 1.5 net yards per punt short of the Chiefs punter, but even those bros can’t deny he should’ve taken Townsend’s spot.
Stonehouse’s 44.0 net yards per punt, which ranked fourth in the NFL, was second in the AFC behind Townsend, and more importantly, ahead of Cole. It was also the single-season record for a rookie punter.
Nevertheless, Stonehouse is using the situation as motivation for himself moving forward, which is the right way to look at it.
Why do y’all give me more fuel
— Ryan Stonehouse (@_RyanStonehouse) January 30, 2023
As great as Stonehouse was, he’ll have to get better at angling punts and pinning opponents deep next season. If he can do that, there may never be another AFC representative at the Pro Bowl as long as he’s in the league.
