Miami Dolphins’ Mike Pouncey gets Pro Bowl nod, Reshad Jones is snubbed

Reshad Jones will get consideration for All-Pro.

But the only way he’s going to Hawaii is if someone ahead of him drops out.

Mike Pouncey, meanwhile, is going — so long as he’s healthy enough. Pouncey earned his third consecutive invitation to the Pro Bowl, the league announced Tuesday.

But Jones was left off the 2016 NFL all-star roster. And while potentially unfair to one of the league’s best safeties, it should not be a major surprise.

Jones is still relatively unknown nationally, even with his five interceptions (including two for touchdowns) and 124 tackles. Despite an all-out social-media blitz, he did poorly in fan voting, which counts for a third of the equation.

Plus Jones plays for a bad team, which also likely hurt him among players and coaches.

“I feel so bad for Reshad,” Pouncey said. “I know he’s the best safety in the NFL. Him not making it is very disappointing. [When I spoke with him] … I told him I wish I could give him my Pro Bowl nod. He’s an impact player on the football team. He’s really grown as a football player, and I’m really sad he didn’t make it.”

Jones can take solace in this: Ndamukong Suh probably got snubbed as well. Suh was a Pro Bowler in four of his five season in Detroit, including the past three, but like Jones, will only go if he’s needed as an alternate.

Suh is tied for sixth in the NFL — and third among all defensive tackles — with 15 tackles for loss.

But he has been there before. This was supposed to be Jones’ season.

Instead, it will be Pouncey flying solo. And, more importantly for him, he will be going as a center after qualifying as a guard a season ago.

“I love being the center of the Miami Dolphins,” Pouncey said. “I love the position. I feel like I came in with a chip on my shoulder.”

Pouncey added that he “wanted to come in here and prove to everyone” that he was still an elite center.

Pouncey becomes the first Dolphins interior lineman to go to the Pro Bowl in three consecutive seasons since Keith Sims did it in the mid-1990s.

And he expects to play.

Despite injuring his foot Sunday, Pouncey said his goal is to finish out the last two games of the season and make the trek to Honolulu.

He presumably will take along his brother Maurkice, too. The Steelers lineman hasn’t played all year after injuring his ankle before the season.

“He’s a great football player,” Mike Pouncey said. “He was the first one to call me when I found out I made it. I told him I feel like we make it together every year.”

The Pro Bowl will be held at Aloha Stadium on Jan. 31.

This story was originally published December 22, 2015 at 9:06 PM with the headline "Miami Dolphins’ Mike Pouncey gets Pro Bowl nod, Reshad Jones is snubbed."