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NFL: 25 best players to never make a Pro Bowl

By Hans Themistode

Wide receiver for the New England Patriots Julian Edelman (Photo credit should read TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP via Getty Images)
Wide receiver for the New England Patriots Julian Edelman (Photo credit should read TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP via Getty Images) /
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Bruce Irvin
Bruce Irvin (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) /

25 best players to never make a Pro Bowl: 15. Bruce Irvin, DE

Career stats:

  • 290 total tackles
  • 52 sacks

Best season 2017:

  • 54 tackles
  • 8 sacks

Whenever an active player comes across the board, there’s a flicker of hope that appears. After all, they’re still actively playing and have a chance to get off this list with a breakout year.

In the case of Bruce Irvin though, it doesn’t appear likely that’ll happen. Although he’s bounced around a bit, Irvin is primarily known for his role on “The Legion of Boom,” with the Seattle Seahawks. That 2013 team was all defense and shut teams out routinely and Irvin was a big reason why.

Sure names such as Kam Chancellor, Richard Sherman and Earl Thomas received most of the pub, but it was Irvin who did a lot of the dirty work on the inside.

In the subsequent years following the Super Bowl win, Irvin really came into his own, including a 2017 season that saw him punish quarterbacks as he picked eight sacks and 54 tackles. 2019 saw him set a new career-high with 8.5 sacks but his momentum was completely taken away from him this past year due to a torn ACL.

All signs point to him making a full recovery but it appears that his days of being in contention of making a Pro Bowl roster could be over.

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