Yes, Virginia, Tyler Huntley is the fourth alternate AFC Pro Bowl quarterback.
PFT has confirmed the accuracy of the report that Ravens quarterback Tyler Huntley finished seventh among all AFC quarterbacks, making him the fourth alternate on the roster for a game that won’t actually be played.
So how did it happen? We suggested that there may have been an effort to stuff the ballot box, via fan voting. A league source with knowledge of the voting dynamics has suggested a different theory.
Coaching staffs vote collectively, for three quarterbacks. Players vote individually, also for three quarterbacks. As the source explained it, players who want to support their own quarterback will vote for him and for two other obscure candidates, instead of voting for two other viable contenders.
For example, Dolphins players who wanted to boost Tua Tagovailoa onto the Pro Bowl roster could have voted for Huntley as one of the other two quarterbacks, instead of voting for a true competitor to Tua.
“All it would take is a bunch of defensive players from other teams voting for Huntley to help their quarterback,” the source observed.
Regardless, and with all due respect to Huntley, the outcome shows what a farce the entire process is. Huntley didn’t even play until December. He has appeared in three games. He has no business being the fourth or the fourteenth alternate.
And, as explained earlier, any effort by those who simply pass along raw information without context or scrutiny in order to bootstrap the development into a projection of a massive payday for Huntley is gratuitous to the point of goofy.