Pro Bowl update: Seahawks’ Browner still has a shot
Jan 15, 2012, 5:57 PM | Updated: Jan 17, 2012, 10:12 am
By Brady Henderson
The results of this weekend’s divisional-round playoff games leave a few Seahawks with a chance to join teammate Earl Thomas in the Pro Bowl.
Cornerback Brandon Browner, a first alternate, will take Carlos Rogers’ spot if the 49ers advance to the Super Bowl with a win over the visiting Giants in next weekend’s NFC championship game.
Brandon Browner |
Chicago’s Charles Tillman and Green Bay’s Charles Woodson are the other two starters.
Browner, who had six interceptions and a league-high 23 passes defended, would have been guaranteed a trip to Hawaii had Green Bay not lost to the Giants on Sunday because either Rogers or Woodson would be unavailable with his team playing in the Super Bowl.
Running back Marshawn Lynch, who was voted a second alternate after rushing for over 1,200 yards and scoring 13 total touchdowns, saw his chances of playing take a hit earlier this week when Chicago’s Matt Forte, one of the three NFC starters, said he is planning on playing despite a knee injury.
Assuming the first alternate is Minnesota’s Adrian Peterson, who tore his ACL late in the season, Lynch will play if Frank Gore and the 49ers reach the Super Bowl. Gore and Philadelphia’s LeSean McCoy are the other starters.
Fullback Michael Robinson and strong safety Kam Chancellor are also first alternates. Punter Jon Ryan was a third alternate. Thomas was the team’s only starter.
The Pro Bowl will be played on Sunday, Jan. 29, which is a week before the Super Bowl.
Update: As @Seahawk_Talk points out on Twitter, a knee injury could keep Packers fullback John Kuhn from playing in the Pro Bowl. If so, Robinson would take his place. Kuhn was carted off the field in the third quarter of Sunday’s loss to the Giants.