After finishing the season at 4-13 for the second straight year, the New England Patriots could not have been too surprised that they would be going into the January 30 Pro Bowl — or as it is called this year, the “Pro Bowl Games” — without a single player present at the National Football League’s annual All-Star competition. The only Patriots player picked for the 2024 season was special teams player Brendan Schooler, who was also selected as an All-Pro for his inspired work on special teams.
But Schooler was forced to withdraw from the Pro Bowl roster due to a needed surgery procedure. That left the once-mighty Patriots without a Pro Bowl player for the first time since 2000, the first season under their then-new head coach who led the team to a mediocre 5-11 record that year — a coach named Bill Belichick.
Belichick stayed with the Patriots for another 23 seasons, guiding the franchise to a record six Super Bowl championships — and placing at least two players in the Pro Bowl every season. In each of the 2007, 2010 and 2011 seasons, the powerhouse Patriots sent eight players to the Pro Bowl. Even in the 2023 four-win season, Patriots edge rusher Matt Judon received a Pro Bowl nod.
Patriots Rookie QB Gets First Pro Bowl Bid
With Schooler out, the Patriots appeared to be on the verge of breaking their two-decade-plus Pro Bowl streak. But all that changed on Tuesday with the latest announcement from the NFL and the Patriots organization. The announcement was good news for the team’s 22-year-old rookie quarterback, Drake Maye, because the former North Carolina Tar Heel was told he was headed for the Pro Bowl Games in Orlando, Florida.
Maye will join the Pittsburgh Steelers’ Russell Wilson and Cincinnati Bengals’ Joe Burrow as the AFC quarterback Pro Bowl picks. The Baltimore Ravens’ Lamar Jackson and Buffalo Bills’ QB Josh Allen were also selected to the initial AFC roster, but Allen was forced to drop out of the event due to a wrist injury, and Jackson opted out for undisclosed reasons, clearing the way for the Patriots’ young signal caller.
Maye was picked by the Patriots with the No. 3 selection in the 2024 NFL draft, after a stellar UNC career in which he threw for 8,018 yards and 63 touchdowns in 30 games as the Tar Heels’ quarterback.
Pro Bowl Honor Caps Off Impressive Debut For No. 3 Pick
The Patriots signed Maye to a four-year, $36.6 million contract, including a $23.5 million signing bonus, but then kept him on the sidelines for the first five weeks of the season as veteran Jacoby Brissett held down the quarterback spot while New England lost four straight after a surprising Week One victory over Cincinnati.
When Maye took over, the results improved only somewhat as he guided the Patriots to just two wins over their next 11 games before giving way to rookie backup Joe Milton in the season finale, which turned out to be a win over Buffalo.
But Maye was nonetheless impressive, throwing for 2,276 yards and 15 touchdowns in his 12 starts — though his final start came in Week 18 against Buffalo when Maye played just one sequence before Milton took over.
Buffalo Bills’ running back James Cook was also named to the AFC Pro Bowl Games squad on Tuesday, replacing Baltimore running back Derrick Henry.
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