Jeremy Maclin to miss Pro Bowl for personal reasons

By Cory Buck | Jan 19, 2015

Dec 14, 2014; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Eagles head coach Chip Kelly talks with wide receiver Jeremy Maclin (18) during a game against the Dallas Cowboys at Lincoln Financial Field. The Cowboys defeated the Eagles 38-27. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports /

Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Jeremy Maclin has opted out of his first Pro Bowl for personal reasons.

The latest player to remove himself from the NFL Pro Bowl roster is Philadelphia Eagles Comeback Player of the Year Jeremy Maclin. He will hold out of the exhibition set to be played one week before the Super Bowl in Arizona. This was the first time Maclin had been named to the Pro Bowl, but he will not appear for personal reasons, per CSN Philadelphia.

More from NFL

Obviously the ‘personal reasons’ tag can be a broadly applied label that covers any number of possibilities, but it’s worth noting that 2014 was Maclin’s first season since recovering from knee surgery that made him miss all of 2013.

It could very well be that Maclin is physically tapped out and doesn’t want to risk any damage to his knee after having made it through the season without missing major time. It could also be that he simply wants to spend time with family, but that’s the personal reasons tag for you.

What can’t be disputed is Maclin’s worthiness of being named to the Pro Bowl in the first place. In playing a healthy season, Maclin showed why the Eagles felt like they could let go of receiver DeSean Jackson. Maclin tallied 85 catches for 1,318 receiving yards and ten touchdowns this season. Those numbers put him ninth in yards and tied for 12th in touchdowns among receivers.

Instead of risking any further injury and possibly slowing down Philadelphia’s charge to get back in the playoffs next season, Maclin opts out of a Pro Bowl that continues to take a step back from whatever relevance the event had conjured in the first place.

A plethora of professionals have opted out of the game for personal reasons or to recuperate from injury, which places the event itself back into question, as seems to be an annual custom. This comes despite the altered format to the team selection which seemed to instill a little bit of excitement into last year’s game when Jerry Rice and Deion Sanders were picking the teams. This year Michael Irvin and Cris Carter will do the honors.

In addition to Maclin, the Eagles offense also sent tackle Jason Peters, running backs Darren Sproles and LeSean McCoy, and center Jason Kelce. McCoy also opted out of the Pro Bowl because of an undisclosed injury.

There is no word on who will replace Jeremy Maclin, but once full lineups are released for the Pro Bowl teams, we will pass those along as well.

More from FanSided