KaVontae Turpin hasn’t had the most stable pro football career. Undrafted in 2019, he never got a shot in the NFL and played in a series of semi-pro leagues before catching on with the New Jersey Generals and becoming the USFL MVP this year. So it’s understandable if he doesn’t think his job is particularly safe.
And when Turpin was named the NFC’s Pro Bowl return man this week, he still didn’t know if his job was safe.
In fact, when Cowboys owner Jerry Jones called Turpin into his office to inform him he made the Pro Bowl, Turpin feared he was getting cut. Although Turpin has played very well this season, he also muffed a punt recently, and he didn’t know if that could cost him his job.
“Most people don’t get calls from the owner,” Turpin said, via the Dallas Morning News. “The first thing that came to my mind was I got cut.”
Turpin said learning he was a Pro Bowler was an emotional moment.
“I was tearing up,” Turpin said. “They were coming down, but he probably couldn’t tell in my voice because I was still trying to be professional with it. . . . That was basically my first time talking to him on the phone, so I didn’t know what to expect from him. It’s Jerry Jones. You’ve got to be professional when you’re talking with the owner of the team.”
The Pro Bowl itself has become such a meaningless game that it’s really not a game anymore, instead a flag football game combined with other events. But making the Pro Bowl still means a lot to players, especially players who have had to scratch and claw their way there, like Turpin.