A seventh Ravens player was named to the Pro Bowl while another officially backed out due to injury on Monday.
After safety Eric Weddle was added to the AFC roster earlier in the day, center Jeremy Zuttah received the invitation to play in the game as a replacement for Pittsburgh’s Maurkice Pouncey. It is Zuttah’s first Pro Bowl invitation after he was the only Baltimore offensive lineman to start all 16 games in 2016.
Another Baltimore-for-Pittsburgh Pro Bowl swap was made at the linebacker position where C.J. Mosley officially pulled out of the game with the calf injury he sustained in the season finale at Cincinnati. The third-year Ravens linebacker is being replaced by Ryan Shazier of the Steelers.
A two-time Pro Bowl selection, Mosley is the second Raven to decline participating in the game after six-time Pro Bowl guard Marshal Yanda withdrew earlier this month with a shoulder injury. Zuttah will join Weddle, kicker Justin Tucker, long snapper Morgan Cox, and fullback Kyle Juszczyk for Sunday night’s game in Orlando.
Zuttah’s inclusion came as a surprise to some after he was criticized for uneven play throughout the season. Pro Football Focus graded the 30-year-old as the 13th-best center in the NFL while Bleacher Report’s NFL1000 ranked Zuttah 26th among the league’s centers.
The Ravens are still expected to seek an upgrade at the position this offseason as Zuttah is set to carry a $4.607 million salary cap number for the 2017 season.
Zuttah in, Mosley out as Pro Bowl shuffling continues for Ravens
Luke Jones
Luke Jones is the Ravens and Orioles beat reporter for WNST BaltimorePositive.com and is a PFWA member. His mind is consumed with useless sports knowledge, pro wrestling promos, and movie quotes, but he often forgets where he put his phone. Luke's favorite sports memories include being one of the thousands of kids who waited for Cal Ripken's autograph after Orioles games in the summer of 1995, attending the Super Bowl XXXV victory parade with his dad in the pouring rain, and watching the Terps advance to the Final Four at the Carrier Dome in 2002. Follow him on social media @BaltimoreLuke or email him at Luke@wnst.net.
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