PRESS RELEASE
An AFC-high seven Baltimore Ravens were voted to the Pro Bowl for their standout performances during the 2023 season. S Kyle Hamilton (first), ILB Roquan Smith (second) and K Justin Tucker (seventh) were named AFC starters, while QB Lamar Jackson (third), C Tyler Linderbaum (first), DT Justin Madubuike (first) and ILB Patrick Queen (first) were also selected to represent the conference’s All-Star squad.
Of these seven players, six are homegrown Ravens (five draft picks – Hamilton, Jackson, Linderbaum, Madubuike and Queen; one undrafted free agent – Tucker).
KYLE HAMILTON – FIRST PRO BOWL (STARTER)
- Earning his first-career Pro Bowl nod, S Kyle Hamilton leads all NFL players at his position in passes defensed (13) and tackles for loss (10), while his three sacks tie for the most by an AFC safety and four interceptions (including one pick-six) tie for the second most among the group. Hamilton has also posted a career-high 81 tackles (63 solo) and one forced fumble, while permitting an NFL-safety-low 38.4 passer rating (min. 40 targets) in coverage for a Ravens defense that leads the NFL in scoring (16.4 ppg), sacks (57) and takeaways (29).
- Hamilton is the first NFL defender to produce at least 10 tackles for loss and four interceptions in a season since S Tyrann Mathieu achieved these marks in his 2015 Pro Bowl and All-Pro season. Hamilton is also the first Raven since Ray Lewis and Jamie Sharper (both in 2001) to record double-digit tackles for loss (10) and passes defensed (13) in a single season.
- Hamilton earned AFC Defensive Player of the Week honors in Week 16, after registering five tackles and career highs in interceptions (two) and passes defensed (three). In Baltimore’s Week 3 contest, he became just the sixth NFL defensive back since 2000 and first Ravens defensive back since Bennie Thompson (in 1996) to record three sacks in a game.
- Hamilton is the first Ravens safety since Earl Thomas III (2019) to be named to a Pro Bowl. At 22, Hamilton (March 16, 2001) and Todd Heap (March 16, 1980), who earned his first-career Pro Bowl nod in 2002, are the youngest Pro Bowlers in Ravens history.
Hamilton Quote:
“It’s kind of surreal. I don’t think it has settled in yet. I have to be thankful for where I’m at and for all the people who got me here. Honestly, growing up, watching the Pro Bowl every year, it’s cool to have the opportunity to play in it. Obviously, we want to be playing in the Super Bowl, but I’m blessed either way, just to be selected. I’m thankful for everybody who voted for me and believed I’m good enough to be in the position that I am.
“It’s an honor, honestly, this early in my career to see success like this. I feel like it’s a confidence booster. I feel like I have a lot more room to get better, and that’s a good thing. I feel like I haven’t reached my peak, and I’m still getting better each and every day, but being included in a group of people like all of the past Ravens Pro Bowlers, it’s an honor.”
LAMAR JACKSON – THIRD PRO BOWL
- Named to his third-career Pro Bowl, QB Lamar Jackson has posted the AFC’s second-highest completion percentage (67.2%), passer rating (102.7) and touchdown-to-interception ratio (3.4), throwing for a career-high 3,678 yards and 24 touchdowns, with only seven interceptions. He’s also produced the NFL’s most rushing yards (821) by a quarterback – standing ninth among all AFC players in that category – and has tallied five ground scores. Jackson’s 29 total scores (24 passing and five rushing) tie for the AFC’s second most, while his 4,499 total yards of offense (3,678 passing and 821 rushing) rank third in the conference.
- In 2023, Jackson became the first QB in NFL history to produce at least 3,000 passing yards and 800 rushing yards in multiple seasons, after also reaching these marks in his 2019 MVP campaign. He now owns two of six such single-season showings (Kyler Murray in 2020, Russell Wilson in 2014, Robert Griffin III in 2012 and Randall Cunningham in 1990) in NFL history.
- En route to a Week 17 AFC Offensive Player of the Week award – his second such honor of the season (also Week 7) – Jackson completed 18-of-21 passes (85.7%) for 321 yards and five touchdowns vs. Miami, finishing with a perfect passer rating (158.3) for the third time in his career. Jackson’s three career games with a perfect passer rating (min. 15 pass attempts) are tied (Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Ben Roethlisberger and Kurt Warner) for the most in NFL history, while only Jackson and Roethlisberger have produced a perfect rating and thrown for at least five touchdowns on multiple occasions.
- Jackson has four career games with at least five touchdown passes, marking the third-most such games by an NFL player in the first six seasons of a career. Only Patrick Mahomes (six games) and Dan Marino (five) have more.
- Jackson’s three Pro Bowl honors are the most by a quarterback in Ravens history.
TYLER LINDERBAUM – FIRST PRO BOWL
- Named a Pro Bowler for the first time in his career, C Tyler Linderbaum anchors an offensive line that blocks for the AFC’s second-best overall (379.5 ypg) and scoring (29.6 ppg) unit. The Ravens offense also averages the AFC’s second-most (6.0) yards per play, has posted the conference’s third-most explosive plays (122) and allowed the group’s fewest plays of zero or negative yards, including incompletions (289). Linderbaum is one of five AFC centers with at least 800 offensive snaps to have committed three-or-fewer penalties this season.
- Baltimore’s rushing attack averages a league-high 159.7 yards per game and has produced a franchise-best 26 ground scores, tying Miami for the NFL’s most. The Ravens have also posted the AFC’s most rushes of at least five yards (204), 10 yards (140) and 20 yards (20).
- Through the air, the Ravens’ 103.8 passer rating leads the AFC, while their 8.0 yards-per-attempt average ranks second and 67.2% completion percentage stands third in the conference.
- Linderbaum is the first center in Ravens history to earn Pro Bowl recognition.
Linderbaum Quote:
“A lot of credit goes to my teammates – the other O-linemen I work with every single day. Without them, I wouldn’t be in this position for this accolade. It’s just a team effort. I’m always a firm believer that if the team is winning, a lot of accolades are going to come with that. There’s still a long way to go, but it’s good for my second year.
“There is hard work that goes into it. It isn’t easy, but there is more work to be done. I’m a long way from where I want to be. And hopefully, we’ll be doing something else when that time comes around the Pro Bowl time. But to just be recognized by other people, it feels pretty good.”
JUSTIN MADUBUIKE – FIRST PRO BOWL
- Earning his first Pro Bowl honor, DT Justin Madubuike’s career-high 13 sacks stand atop the charts among NFL interior linemen and rank seventh among all AFC defenders this season. He’s also added career highs in tackles (54), tackles for loss (12) and forced fumbles (two) for a Ravens defense that leads the NFL in scoring (16.4 ppg), sacks (57) and takeaways (29).
- Madubuike accomplished franchise-record-breaking and NFL-record-tying sacks streaks in 2023. His six consecutive games (Weeks 6-11) with at least a full sack mark the longest streak in Ravens history, while his 11 straight games (Weeks 4-15) with at least a half-sack tie for the longest single-season streak in NFL history.
- Madubuike’s 13 sacks tie Trevor Pryce (in 2006) for the fifth most in Ravens single-season history. Only Elvis Dumervil (17 in 2014), Peter Boulware (15 in 2001), Michael McCrary (14.5 in 1998) and Terrell Suggs (14 in 2011) have produced more sacks in a Ravens season.
- Madubuike is the first Ravens interior D-lineman since Brandon Williams (2018) to earn Pro Bowl recognition.
PATRICK QUEEN – FIRST PRO BOWL
- En route to his first Pro Bowl nod, ILB Patrick Queen has produced a career-high 125 tackles (78 solo) and matched a career high with six passes defensed, while adding 3.5 sacks, nine tackles for loss, one interception, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery for a Ravens defense that leads the NFL in scoring (16.4 ppg), sacks (57) and takeaways (29).
- Queen has registered at least five tackles in 15-of-16 games and is one of three AFC players to post at least 125 tackles (125), three sacks (3.5) and three passes defensed (six) this season.
- Since entering the league in 2020, Queen is the only NFL defender to produce at least 400 tackles (445), 10 sacks (13.5) and 10 takeaways (four interceptions and six fumble recoveries). He also joins C.J. Mosley and Ray Lewis as the only Ravens to reach triple-digit tackles in at least three of the first four years of an NFL career.
- Queen is Baltimore’s first homegrown linebacker since C.J. Mosley (2018) to earn Pro Bowl honors.
Queen Quote:
“This honor means a lot, just for the recognition and all the hard work that goes into it. I have nobody but God to thank, because truly without Him, it’s not possible to be in this position. It’s everything that you could want, and knowing the type of run that we’re on right now makes it that much better.
“The way we play, I think everyone on our defense should have made it, honestly. The guys that didn’t make it, it’s a shoutout to them for how much time and effort and dedication that goes into us playing well as a unit. You could easily fall off at any point, and for our team to just be steady, be on the uphill climb and prove themselves every day, it means a lot for everyone.”
ROQUAN SMITH – SECOND PRO BOWL (STARTER)
- Earning his second-consecutive Pro Bowl nod, ILB Roquan Smith has registered the NFL’s fifth-most tackles (158) and is one of three AFC players to tally at least five tackles in all 16 games this season. His 39 consecutive games with at least five tackles marks the NFL’s longest active streak. Along with his team-high 158 tackles, Smith has posted five tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, one interception, one forced fumble and a career-high eight passes defensed for a Ravens defense that leads the NFL in scoring (16.4 ppg), sacks (57) and takeaways (29).
- Smith has now posted at least 150 tackles in three consecutive seasons, tying for the NFL’s longest active streak. He and Ray Lewis (11 times, last in 2009) are the only defenders in Ravens history to tally at least 150 tackles in a single season.
- Since entering the league in 2018, Smith’s 534 solo tackles are the NFL’s most, while his 850 total tackles rank second. He also owns the second-most games with at least 10 tackles (43) and five tackles (87) during this span.
- Smith is the first Ravens linebacker to be named a Pro Bowler in each of his first two seasons in Baltimore.
Smith Quote:
“It’s an honor to be voted into the Pro Bowl. I’m very grateful for my teammates and coaches; each and every week we go to war together, and the guys put me in some of the best possible situations to be successful. I’m also very thankful for the fans who voted for me and see my talent and the way I respect the game. I’m very grateful to be in this position, and I don’t take this award lightly.
“My plan, though, is to not be playing in the game, because I want to be in the Big Dance. But still, I appreciate that accolade next to my name. It’s a great honor.”
JUSTIN TUCKER – SEVENTH PRO BOWL (STARTER)
- Selected to his seventh-career Pro Bowl, K Justin Tucker, the most accurate kicker in NFL history (90.2%), has connected on 31-of-36 field goal attempts and 50-of-51 PATs, scoring a career-high, team-record and AFC-best 143 points in 2023. All but one of Tucker’s misses this season have been on tries of at least 53 yards, including a blocked 55-yarder. Tucker last missed a field goal from within 40 yards on Jan. 2, 2022 (vs. LAR), drilling 46 consecutive tries within that distance since.
- Tucker posted his ninth-ever season reaching at least 30 field goals made, with no other kicker in NFL history producing more than five such seasons. He also owns an NFL-record 12 straight seasons (each year of his career) with at least 25 field goals made.
- In 2023, Tucker became the all-time leader in points scored (1,645) and multi-field-goal performances (121) by a player in Years 1-12 of a career. His 394 field goals made also mark the most by any player in NFL history within their first 12 seasons.
- Tucker’s seven Pro Bowls tie Morten Andersen for the most by a kicker in NFL history.
