As soon as the Arizona Cardinals’ locker room opened to reporters on Christmas Eve, Josh Sweat posted up by his locker. This was an unusual sight. Sweat wanted reporters to come. He wanted a scrum of cameras and microphones. He had something to get off his chest.

A day earlier, Sweat had missed out on his second Pro Bowl selection, instead being named an alternate. The Cardinals’ only two Pro Bowlers are tight end Trey McBride and safety Budda Baker.

Sweat, though, has been the most productive player on defense.

He has 11 sacks this season, the ninth-most in the NFL and fourth-most in the NFC. Ranks that were even higher when voting closed last week. His four forced fumbles are tied with Aidan Hutchinson for the most in the NFL.

When offered a chance to make his thoughts known, Sweat made all of these points, responding to the first question with an answer that spanned nearly three minutes.

“Maybe I’m crazy,” Sweat said. “Y’all let me know if I’m crazy. I don’t know. I had my best season from the start of the voting to the end of the voting. I’m top five (among outside linebackers) in sacks, second in the NFC. Number one in forced fumbles. It’s like, I don’t know what else I could’ve done at that point. I don’t know what else I could’ve done.”

In the fan voting portion of the Pro Bowl selection process, Sweat trailed only the Giants’ Brian Burns among NFC outside linebackers. Yet, he was beaten to roster spots by Byron Young and Jared Verse, both of the Rams. Young and Verse ranked fourth and fifth, respectively, in fan voting.

The Pro Bowl selection process equally weighs three aspects: The fan vote, a player vote and a coach vote.

“I’m upset because the fans that actually went out there and voted for me, it meant nothing at the end of the day,” Sweat said. “And I’m upset because there’s only two individual things that you can get. It’s Pro Bowl and All-Pro. And I got one taken away from me. I’m just flat out saying it. It was taken away from me.”

Sweat made a point to note two stats — sacks and forced fumbles — because those are the stats shown to players on their ballot. It left him mystified as to how he wasn’t selected.

“You want to holler ‘Team’ or ‘Your team losing.’” Sweat said. “I ain’t even really trying to hear none of that. I just want what I earned and what I worked for.”

This is not the first time that Sweat has felt snubbed from a Pro Bowl nod. In 2022, he was left off the roster despite finishing with 11 sacks for the Eagles.

His only selection came in 2021 — a relatively paltry statistical year by his standards. Sweat finished that season with 7.5 sacks and one forced fumble.

But despite those inconsistencies in the selection process, it’s an honor that holds tangible value for players.

“You could say it’s a popularity contest or whatever,” Sweat said. “But at the end of the day, this is waved in people’s faces way more than even All-Pro. They even have an All-Star event for it. So it’s a big deal. It does still signify that you’re one of the top guys in the league.”