49ers tackle Trent Williams fought through a sprained ankle to play in the NFC Championship. He won’t do the same to play in the Pro Bowl.
Williams is out for the NFL’s all-star game, to be played this year in Las Vegas. Replacing him is Seahawks left tackle Duane Brown.
On one hand, it’s a free trip to Vegas, with another little paycheck on the way. On the other hand, it’s one more opportunity to enter the offseason with an injury.
It’s not surprising that the best of the best players from 2021 won’t play in the Pro Bowl. Beyond the players whose teams will play in the Super Bowl, plenty of others will wisely bypass. Still, as long as it’s profitable, the NFL will keep doing it -- even if it’s only a game of glorified two-hand touch in pads.
Fortunately, the Commissioner has stopped huffing and puffing about the quality of the game. Players should not go all out in the Pro Bowl. In an age of unprecedented sensitivity to player health and safety, the NFL shouldn’t want them to.
