LOS ANGELES – Los Angeles Rams LS JAKE McQUAIDE was named to the 2017 Pro Bowl, the National Football League announced today.
The 2017 Pro Bowl will feature a return to the traditional AFC vs. NFC game format following three years using a revised, "unconferenced" format.
McQuaide, who will play in the All-Star game for the first time, becomes the first long snapper in franchise history to receive Pro Bowl honors.
The Cincinnati native was chosen by Dallas Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett as a "need" player for the Pro Bowl roster. (Garrett's staff will coach in the NFL's annual All-Star game.) The NFL stipulates that the head coach of each team chooses a "need" player, and those players must be long snappers.
The six-year NFL veteran out of Ohio State played in all 16 of the Rams games this season, initiating the snap on all of Hekker's 98 punts and K Greg Zuerlein's 22 field goals (19 successful) and 23 PAT kicks (all converted).
As a member of the Los Angeles Rams punt team, McQuaide was instrumental in helping Hekker establish NFL single-season records for punts placed inside opponents' 20-yard line (51) and single-season net punting average (46.0), breaking Hekker's own record of 44.2-yard net average which he established in 2013. As a unit, Los Angeles led the league during the 2016 campaign in opponent punt return average, holding opponents to just 4.3 yards per return.
The 2017 NFL Pro Bowl will be played on Sunday, Jan. 29 and televised live on ESPN and ESPN Deportes from Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Fla.
