Dak Prescott, Zack Martin replaced for Pro Bowl by Baker Mayfield, Tyler Smith

After landing seven players on Pro Bowl rosters for this weekend’s events, the Dallas Cowboys will actually send nine players to Orlando. However, quarterback Dak Prescott and right guard Zack Martin will not be joining their teammates. The league announced that Prescott is being replaced by Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield.

Although Cowboys fans will miss seeing Prescott, Mayfield’s trip to the Pro Bowl is a fitting end to his resurgence this season. He led the Buccaneers to the divisional round of the playoffs and posted the best numbers of his career yet.

Martin, who earned his seventh first-team All-Pro honor this season, is reportedly expecting to welcome a new member to his family soon and therefore, will not travel. Coincidentally, Prescott is also just a few weeks away from becoming a first-time father, though his excuse for the Pro Bowl festivities has not yet been reported. Though Prescott and Martin aren’t playing this weekend, three more Cowboys are now on the roster. Martin’s spot is going to second-year left guard Tyler Smith. It will be his first trip to the Pro Bowl.

Another first-timer is tight end Jake Ferguson. He and DeMarcus Lawrence were late additions to the Pro Bowl roster. Lawrence and Ferguson are replacing 49ers players Nick Bosa and George Kittle. They’ll join Smith, edge rusher Micah Parsons, punter Bryan Anger, kicker Brandon Aubrey, cornerback Daron Bland, and wide receiver CeeDee Lamb.

Pro Bowl hits Orlando

The NFL Pro Bowl is back in Orlando this year. The game is going to be held at Camping World Stadium, better known as the Citrus Bowl, on February 4, 2024. Held at Allegiant Stadium the last two seasons in Las Vegas, the Pro Bowl was played at Camping World Stadium for four seasons, though the 2021 game was canceled due to the pandemic.

Notably, this is going to be a new version of the Pro Bowl. Instead of a traditional football game, the conference will be playing flag football to avoid injuries and make the game more exciting to watch. It’s an experience that the players greatly prefer.

The NFL feels good about the new format, which includes a skills event and the flag football game. In Orlando, the league is going to find out if that idea worked last year as a novelty or if it has more staying power.