One year ago, Jack Fox was watching the first team to add him to their practice squad (Kansas City) march towards a Super Bowl title while the team with whom he finished the 2019 season (Detroit) was signing him to a futures contract.
Little could he have imagined that in one year's time, those defending Super Bowl champs would be poised to repeat while he would preparing to play in his first Pro Bowl—in a manner of speaking. 2021 NFL Pro Bowl Celebration Presented by Verizon Date: Sunday, Jan. 31 Time: 2/4 p.m. CT Location: Virtually TV: ESPN/ABC (2 pm) / NFL Network (4 pm) Stream : NFL YouTube, Twitter and Facebook channels (4 pm)
Fox's fairy tale rookie season saw the undrafted free agent begin the year staying in kicker Matt Prater's basement and end by setting NFL and Lions club records for punting and earn All-Pro honors and a Pro Bowl berth.
A season played against the surreal backdrop of empty stadiums allowing teams and TV viewers unprecedented ability to hear everything said on the field, will officially close on Sunday when a virtual version of the Pro Bowl will take place to cap off a day of celebrations. The programing kicks off at 2 p.m. on ESPN and ABC while the virtual game will be shown on the NFL Network and streak on the NFL's social channels (see box on right).
Kyler Murray and Deshaun Watston, who were named the starting quarterbacks for the NFC and AFC in December, will lead the virtual versions of their teams from home rather than on the field of Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. Fox's fortunes in the game will depend upon the game playing skills (and strategies) of Murray, Jamal Adams of the Seattle Seahawks, NASCAR driver Bubba Wallace and retired running back Marshawn Lynch.
That is assuming that anyone decides to punt.
"No one really ever punts in Madden, so I hope I see myself at least once, but who knows?" Fox said.
That would include Fox himself.
"I'm not good enough (at the game), so I never punt. I might when it's fourth and 15-plus"
That Fox is in the position to contemplate being part of a nationally televised version of a video game is a testament to the kind of year he fashioned in Detroit.
After winning a tight competition for the job with former Australian Rules Football player Arryn Siposs, the former C-USA Special Teams Player of the Year quickly proved the Lions decision to a wise one.
He averaged 49.3 yards in his NFL debut against Chicago, an impressive debut to be sure. But that effort became his lowest effort in the first month of the season, as he averaged over 54 yards per punt in each of the next three games, including blasts of 65 and 67 yards.
A year on the practice squad, that included a release from the Chiefs before eventually joining the Lions, had taught Fox to take nothing for granted. But after being named the NFC Special Teams Player of the Month, he allowed himself to begin to feel somewhat settled.
"For most of that year (2019), I wasn't on a team. I was just at home, so I didn't take anything for granted. Going into this year they signed me to a futures contract, which kind of means I am on the team, but I can also be cut at any time. It was a tight competition during camp and I barely won it at the end of camp and then it was straight into the regular season without any of the usual competitive preparations.
"At least if you have a preseason, people have some tape on you. But I don't think anybody really knew who I was," Fox added.
His performance quickly ended his anonymity.
For over half the season, he was on pace to break one of the oldest marks in the NFL record book, Sammy Baugh's 51.4 yard average in 1940. He was named to the Pro Football Focus Mid-season All-Pro team and posted the highest average in NFL history for a punter in his first 50 kicks.
The remarkable season closed by being named to the Pro Bowl, a twist of fate that seemed in perfect harmony with this most unusual of years.
"The whole thing has been pretty surreal. Since the season has ended, I've finally had a chance to think about it. Having no fans in the stands definitely made it surreal, but that also might have played to my advantage since it was a lot quieter in the stadium."
Crowd noise and fans will obviously not play a part in Sunday's event, but should any of the NFC gamers make the call to punt in the game, Fox is at least heartened to know that he will carry an upgraded Madden rating into action, as opposed to his original score.
"Somebody had sent me my Madden rating at the beginning of the year, which was like a 65. I think I was the second worst punter in the whole game. There were guys who aren't even in the league who were ahead of me. I think they adjusted it some and I might be an 80 now," he added.
No matter what his programmed strength may be, Fox will not be sweating his virtual performance or the potential of Lynch to go "Beast Mode" on him should his virtual self not perform up to par.
"He controls me, so I'll be coming to look for him if he shanks one," Fox laughed.
