The biggest talk of the Pro Bowl was not necessarily who made the Pro Bowl this year, but who didn’t. At the top of the list of snubs — no matter where you looked — was Bucs safety Antoine Winfield Jr. There was essentially public outrage that Winfield didn’t make the Pro Bowl and was only listed as an alternate, with Cardinals’ safety Budda Baker making it over him.

The Case For Winfield Over Baker Is Clear

The argument has been made plenty of times, but for one last ringing endorsement, Scott Reynolds of Pewter Report was in favor of Winfield filing a report for theft.

That’s 40 more tackles Winfield has over Baker, five times the forced fumbles, four times the fumble recoveries, five times the sacks, three times the interceptions and five more games played. I think you get the point.

It even spread nationally, as Jason McCourty made the case for Winfield on Good Morning Football and James Palmer of the NFL Network had an interesting post that sheds a good light on Winfield while also pointing out how ridiculous it is that he’s not in.

But the social media post that garnered the most attention, and rightfully so, was from Winfield himself.

Bucs FS Antoine Winfield Jr. and Falcons QB Desmond Ridder – Photo by: USA Today

A picture is worth a thousand words, so how much is an emoji worth? Joking aside, Winfield has every right to be angry about the snub. He’s playing at an All-Pro level, yet can’t get into the NFL’s All-Star game.

The Pro Bowl has become a joke at times for the number of opt-outs and other players that get in. But at the same time, people will use Pro Bowl accolades when arguing a resume for someone making the Hall of Fame, and some players have incentives in their contracts for reaching the Pro Bowl level.

Winifield is set to be a free agent this offseason. While I’d be surprised if he’s playing anywhere other than for the Bucs, receiving another Pro Bowl accolade helps his case and brings him more notoriety. That helps his case in negotiations. At the end of the day, if he makes first or second team All-Pro, that’ll help him as well and is an even better accolade.

Famously in Bucs history, inside linebacker Lavonte David was first team All-Pro in 2013 but did not make the Pro Bowl. In fact, every year he’s made All-Pro he was not an All Star. David was second team All-Pro in 2016 and 2020. His only Pro Bowl was 2015. Winfield did make the Pro Bowl in 2020 as a rookie and was also named to the 2020 All-Rookie team, but has yet to earn All-Pro. This could be the year he does it.

Antoine Winfield Sr. Argues For His Son

Another person in the Bucs family making the case for Winfield was his dad, Antoine Winfield Sr. A 14-year NFL veteran who made three Pro Bowls and a second team All-Pro in his own right, he was very vocal about the snubbing of his son. Winfield Sr. went to Instagram to voice his displeasure, as posted by Greg Auman of Fox Sports.

It’s hard to fault him for his anger, especially about his own child. Winfield Jr. is deserving of making the Pro Bowl and it’s a shame that he didn’t.

Bucs RB Rachaad White Feels Slighted

Winfield wasn’t the only Bucs player who had some disappointment over the Pro Bowl. Bucs running back Rachaad White felt disrespected that he wasn’t even named as a Pro Bowl alternate for the game. He’s filing it away and using it as motivation for next season.

Bucs RB Rachaad White – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

While the rushing numbers for White are middle of the pack at 15th in the NFL in rushing yards, his receiving yards stand out. White is third amongst running backs in receiving yards and second in the NFC with 531. Each week, White is proving that overall, he’s an offensive threat, not just your typical running back or receiver.

At 1,446 yards from scrimmage, White is seventh-best in the league in that category and third amongst those in the backfield. He’s only 88 yards behind Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua for fourth in the league, 69 yards behind Bills running back James Cook for fifth and one yard behind surpassing Eagles receiver A.J. Brown.

The Bucs only had one player make the Pro Bowl as a starter, and that was Mike Evans. Everybody is happy about Evans making it for the fifth time, but there are clearly many unhappy about where they fell in their positioning.