Previously an alternate, Carolina Panthers’ Derrick Brown headed to Pro Bowl after all
The Carolina Panthers’ prolific defensive lineman is finally getting his due.
Derrick Brown, who led the league in tackles among defensive linemen with 103 in the 2023 regular season, was named to the Pro Bowl and will head to the games in Orlando, Fla., in the first week of February, the NFL announced Friday.
He was originally voted in as a first alternate on the NFC player roster, behind first-team players Aaron Donald (Rams), Dexter Lawrence (Giants) and Javon Hargrave (49ers). Brown will be replacing Donald, who is out because of an injury.
Enumerating the 2020 first-round pick’s accolades in his breakout year in 2023 is an exhausting task. But a quick rundown: Brown is the first defensive lineman to reach the 100-tackle threshold in a season, according to Stats Pass, which started keeping the stat in 1994. The record was previously set by Miami’s Christian Wilkins, who notched 98 tackles in 2022. Before him, it was set by JJ Watt in 2014 with 78.
Despite a difficult season on a 2-15 team, Brown was the centerpiece of one of the league’s best defenses. The Panthers only allowed 293.9 total yards a game (fourth-fewest in the NFL). Brown was a huge reason for that success and was internally praised as the “best run defender in the NFL” and as a guy who was initially “snubbed from the Pro Bowl.”
According to Over The Cap, the 6-foot-5, 269-pound lineman is owed $11.7 million in base salary in 2024 before becoming a free agent thereafter. He is a critical part of a defense that may look different after this offseason — what with Brian Burns and Frankie Luvu up as unrestricted free agents and with a new coach and new general manager expected to arrive in a matter of weeks.
The Panthers have three other players named as alternates. Burns was a second alternate at outside linebacker. Punter Johnny Hekker and long snapper JJ Jansen were named third alternates at their positions, as well. There is still the possibility they get named to the NFC player rosters, too, if enough guys in front of them either drop out due to injury or make the Super Bowl.
