A few weeks ago, coach Mike Zimmer admitted that in his disappointing third NFL season Anthony Barr had showed "a tendency to coast."
Now the outside linebacker is somehow coasting to the Pro Bowl.
With Falcons outside linebacker Vic Beasley excused from participating in the annual all-star game because his team made it to the Super Bowl, Barr has been named his replacement. It will be the second straight Pro Bowl nod for Barr, who was the ninth overall pick in the 2014 draft.
Last year, Barr was one of the NFL's top linebackers. This year, he played nearly every snap on defense but was nowhere near as impactful, causing Zimmer to note four weeks ago that "he can do a lot better."
Barr is now the sixth player from the Vikings to be invited to the game, which will be played in Orlando this upcoming Sunday. Harrison Smith, Xavier Rhodes, Everson Griffen and Cordarrelle Patterson were initially selected to play and Linval Joseph, like Barr, got in as an alternate.
