CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Carolina Panthers defensive lineman Derrick Brown got coal in his stocking Tuesday morning when the NFL announced its Pro Bowl selections.
Three NFC interior linemen were voted into the annual All-Star weekend, and Brown was not among them. Call it the Great Pro Bowl Snub of ’25.
Brown finished third at his position across both conferences in the fan balloting, which counts for one-third of the process for determining who goes to the Pro Bowl, which is shifting to the week of the Super Bowl in the Bay Area.
After factoring in the votes of players and coaches, the NFC’s Pro Bowl defensive tackles were the Philadelphia Eagles’ Jalen Carter, the Seattle Seahawks’ Leonard Williams and the Dallas Cowboys’ Quinnen Williams, all of whom were selected last year as well.
Brown was left out despite collecting a career-high and team-leading five sacks through 15 games. That’s more than the combined total of Carter (2.0) and Williams (2.5). Brown also has more tackles (54) than Carter (32) and Williams (48).
Williams, who will face the Panthers this weekend when the Seahawks come to Charlotte, was a worthy choice. The 31-year-old has followed up his 11-sack season in 2024 with 59 tackles and seven sacks for the Seahawks, who have the NFC’s best record at 12-3.
Panthers cornerback Jaycee Horn earned his second consecutive Pro Bowl berth, becoming the first Carolina player to receive back-to-back nods since Brian Burns in 2021-22. Horn has picked off a career-best five passes and deserved to be honored. So did Brown.
“I was disappointed. Being the competitor I am, definitely want the opportunity to represent my team in the Pro Bowl,” Brown said. “It’s one of those things, I guess my peers and coaches don’t think I’m good enough to be in there. So I’ll take that with a grain of salt and just keep working.”
In most years, Brown would be a shoo-in to make the game as an alternate, as he did in 2023 after setting a record for tackles (103) by a defensive lineman. However, because only the flag football game will count toward the score of the Pro Bowl Games, with skills competitions no longer an official part of the event, the NFL isn’t naming alternates for linemen or specialists, according to a league source.
Even if Williams were to drop out, the NFL wouldn’t replace him because linemen aren’t needed in flag football. All of which stinks for Brown, who returned from a knee injury that kept him out of the final 16 games last season looking like the same, backfield-wrecking force he was before the surgery.
Brown leads all defensive linemen with seven pass breakups and is one of just four with five or more sacks with at least that many PBUs. Brown is among three defensive tackles with 50 or more tackles and at least five sacks.
A big part of Brown’s game transcends stats, at least until the NFL comes up with a way of tracking defenders who toss 315-pound offensive linemen around like a bag of groceries.
Brian Baldinger, a former offensive lineman and current NFL Network analyst, hasn’t come up with such a stat. He appreciates Brown’s sheer power, which he highlights every week on X.
Baldinger’s commentary on Brown this week featured this observation: “There’s just not many guys that can take grown men and just throw ’em like it’s a frisbee.”
Panthers coach Dave Canales isn’t big on singling out his players for praise, mindful about keeping a team-first approach as the Panthers (8-7) try to end the franchise’s seven-year playoff drought. However, Canales made an exception Tuesday when asked about Brown’s Pro Bowl slight.
“What I saw from Derrick this year is dominant football play. A guy that stands for everything that we believe in and a guy that’s disruptive in every way, shape and form,” Canales said. “Coming up with sacks this year, and certainly just against the run game and the way he’s played. He definitely is recognized, regardless of what the accolades might be, by his teammates and by his peers, the people that he plays against.”
Since Canales arrived and general manager Dan Morgan was promoted in 2024, the Panthers have made a point of rewarding players who perform on the field and are culture-builders off of it.
Brown. Chuba Hubbard. Horn. Taylor Moton.
Brown was the first to get an extension — a four-year, $96 million contract that puts him among the seven highest-paid defensive tackles in the league. He has plenty of money and a big family full of young children, who will be fired up for Christmas.
You can’t put a price on a player’s legacy, and this week’s oversight means Brown’s bio won’t include “multiple Pro Bowl honoree.” At least not yet.
When Brown returns from spending the holiday with his family, he’ll be playing more pissed off than usual. He said he’ll use the snub as ignition. Offensive linemen from Seattle and Tampa Bay, the Panthers’ Week 18 opponent, should consider this a warning.
“I was definitely shocked I didn’t make it. I feel like I’m playing good ball coming back off of the injury,” Brown said.
“It’s not gonna knock my confidence down any. They still gotta stop that s— on Sundays, so it is what it is.”