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Two Ravens were added to the AFC Pro Bowl roster yesterday: S Eric Weddle and C Jeremy Zuttah, as both reported by Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun.
Eric Weddle going to to his fourth Pro Bowl. Replaces the Patriots' Devin McCourty. Ravens will have five participants in Sunday's game. https://t.co/EixO7IWLdY
— Jeff Zrebiec (@jeffzrebiecsun) January 23, 2017
Ravens center Jeremy Zuttah has been added to the AFC Pro Bowl team.
— Jeff Zrebiec (@jeffzrebiecsun) January 24, 2017
Weddle was listed as the second alternate for the AFC safety spot upon the release of the original roster. Former Ravens safety, Darian Stewart, was the first alternate. Darian took over for Kansas City S Eric Berry’s spot. With the Patriots winning the AFC and thus playing in the Super Bowl, Devin McCourty, who had been on the original roster, is unavailable to play. This empty spot now Eric Weddle’s .
This morning, FB Kyle Juszczyk hinted at the addition of Weddle to the roster before the report became official with the following tweet.
The grind started back in April and now these boys are going to Orlando! #ProBowl #Dodgeballchamps #callingourshot pic.twitter.com/PGlVDixGjB
— Kyle Juszczyk (@JuiceCheck44) January 23, 2017
Weddle was seen throughout the NFL world as a massive snub. Weddle was ranked the top safety on Pro Football Focus for the vast majority of the season. The addition of Weddle this past offseason was huge for the Ravens success as the veteran safety provided leadership and stability on the back end of the secondary. Weddle finished the year with four interceptions, 13 passes defended, one forced fumble, one sack and 89 tackles, an all-around very impressive stat line.
The more surprising addition is that of C Jeremy Zuttah. Zuttah is replacing the Steelers Maurkice Pouncey. The Ravens center struggled throughout the year with both penalties and blocking, and has likely prompted the Ravens search for a new center. Despite all of this, Zuttah actually received an 82.7 grade on Pro Football Focus. However, as just the sixth highest graded center in the AFC, it begs the question of why other centers who had better years failed to make the Pro Bowl. Nonetheless, congrats to Zuttah, it’s a great accomplishment.
The addition of Weddle and Zuttah brings the Ravens to six total participants (C.J. Mosley, Juszczyk, Morgan Cox, Justin Tucker, Weddle and Zuttah). Marshal Yanda elected to not participate, but was one of the original four Ravens invited to the Pro Bowl in Orlando.
The Pro Bowl game will take place on January 31 at 7 p.m. ET. The game will be broadcasted on ESPN.