Five Seahawks players did appear as alternates, however.
The rosters have been announced for the 2025 Pro Bowl Games, and the Seattle Seahawks presence is extremely light.
Only one Seahawks player made the initial NFC Pro Bowl roster, and believe it or not, it’s actually cornerback Devon Witherspoon and not Leonard Williams. While Witherspoon doesn’t really have major counting statistics that typically allure Pro Bowl voters, it’s clear that he was one of the key players on the Seahawks defense and among the top corners (predominantly out of the slot) in the NFL.
Witherspoon was also a Pro Bowl selection as a rookie, which means he’s just joined Russell Wilson, Rufus Porter, Lofa Tatupu, and Fredd Young as the only Seahawks in franchise history to make the Pro Bowl in each of their first two seasons.
The big snub is Williams, who has been superb for virtually the entire season. He leads the Seahawks with nine sacks and had the longest “thicc-six” in NFL history against the New York Jets. His performances over the past six weeks have been that of an All-Pro selection, let alone someone deemed not good enough for the Pro Bowl roster.
Leonard Williams has had 3 multi-sack games for the @Seahawks in the last 6 weeks. Williams has had 34 total tackles, 11 TFL’s, 6.5 sacks and an interception returned 92 yards for a TD in those 6 games. #Seahawks #NFL pic.twitter.com/mM1SFxo6vM
— Pro Football Hall of Fame Ambassador (@PFHOFAmbassador) December 31, 2024
The interior DL who made the NFC roster were the Philadelphia Eagles’ Jalen Carter, the New York Giants’ Dexter Lawrence, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ Vita Vea. That’s a pretty tough trio to usurp, but it feels like if you could bump anyone off the list it’s Vea (although it seems physically hard to bump him).
Seattle did post five Pro Bowl alternates, of which Williams was at least listed there. The other four were safety Julian Love (a Pro Bowl selection last season), wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba, outside linebacker Boye Mafe, and punter Michael Dickson. I do wonder about JSN not getting a Pro Bowl nod over Terry McLaurin, but McLaurin is on a playoff team and I imagine the fan vote push was strong.
JSN is a Pro Bowl alternate. Here’s his 2024 season next to the guys who made the Pro Bowl in the NFC. (via @TruMediaSports). It’s sorted by receiving yards but most of the main WR stats are included here. pic.twitter.com/7kRzLpvh5m
— Dugar, Michael-Shawn (@MikeDugar) January 2, 2025
As usual in this era of the Pro Bowl, the voting is split into thirds among fans, coaches, and players. The days of an actual Pro Bowl game are long gone, but there will be a flag football game on Sunday, Feb. 2, as well as the Pro Bowl Skills Show on Thursday, Jan. 30, both in Orlando, FL.
With a host of Pro Bowl selections from potential Super Bowl teams (along with injured players on bad teams like Dexter Lawrence and Maxx Crosby), there will be plenty of alternates who will be subbed into the main roster in a few weeks. I imagine there will be more than just Witherspoon at the Pro Bowl Games when the time comes.