2016 Pro Bowl Players Announced

2016 Pro Bowl Players Announced

Pro Bowl kicks off super bowl week in primetime on ESPN on Sunday, January 31

The Carolina Panthers placed a league-best 10 players in the 2016 Pro Bowl presented by USAA, which will be played on Sunday, January 31, 2016 and televised live on ESPN at 7:00 PM ET from Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, Hawaii.

The Pro Bowl players were determined by the consensus votes of fans, players and coaches. Each group's vote counted one-third toward determining the 86 Pro Bowl selections announced today. Two additional "need" players will be chosen by each head coach and must be long snappers. The NFL is the only sports league that combines voting by fans, coaches and players to determine its all-star teams. In 1995, the NFL became the first professional sports league to offer online all-star voting.

Players will be assigned to teams through the Pro Bowl Draft presented by USAA, which will air on Wednesday, January 27 on ESPN2 (7:30 PM ET). Two Pro Football Hall of Fame wide receivers -- MICHAEL IRVIN and JERRY RICE -- will serve as NFL Legends captains for the 2016 Pro Bowl. Irvin and Rice return for the second time after being the winning captains during the previous two Pro Bowls.

Five-time Pro Bowler DARREN WOODSON (Team Irvin) and two-time Pro Bowler ERIC DAVIS (Team Rice) will serve as defensive co-captains. The NFL legends will also each be assisted by two active player captains and one NFL.com fantasy football champion in the draft process.

The Pro Bowl will continue using the revised game format that debuted with the 2014 game, with NFL Legends captains having final say over Pro Bowl Draft decisions. The Pro Bowl will remain "unconferenced," with several key playing rules changed. Players were selected without regard to conference in voting by fans, coaches and players and will later be assigned to teams via the Pro Bowl Draft.

Twenty-five of the players named to the Pro Bowl today are first-time All-Stars, including three rookies -- running back TODD GURLEY of St. Louis, return specialist TYLER LOCKETT of Seattle and cornerback MARCUS PETERS of Kansas City.

The AFC had 38 different players named All-Stars and 48 NFC players were honored.

Twenty-six teams had at least one player selected to the 2016 Pro Bowl and 21 clubs had multiple players chosen as All-Stars.

The 2016 Pro Bowl coaching staffs will be from the losing teams in the AFC and NFC Divisional playoffs with the best regular-season records.

Under terms of the Collective Bargaining Agreement, each player on the winning Pro Bowl team receives $58,000, while each player on the losing squad earns $29,000.

Tickets to the 2016 Pro Bowl are on sale through ProBowl.com. Fans may also purchase individual game tickets through Ticketmaster by calling 1-800-745-3000. Tickets start as low as $30.

Special group ticket packages, including access to gameday and Pro Bowl practice experiences, are also available directly through the NFL. Fans can visit ProBowl.com or call 1-844-4PB-TKTS for more information.

The 2016 Pro Bowl presented by USAA is an extension of USAA's Official Military Appreciation Sponsorship of the NFL, which delivers military appreciation experiences to military, veterans and their families at NFL games, training camps and on military bases throughout the NFL season. USAA and the NFL will honor the more than 50,000 military men and women in Hawaii with a number of military appreciation initiatives throughout the week of Pro Bowl. As a reflection of USAA's mission to support military through its sponsorship, the 2016 Pro Bowl Draft presented by USAA will take place at Wheeler Army Airfield. During the week, USAA will also honor and commemorate the 75th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor.

2016 PRO BOWL PLAYERS BY POSITION

(*First-time Pro Bowl selection)

OFFENSE (42)

QUARTERBACKS (6)

Tom Brady, New England; Cam Newton, Carolina; Carson Palmer, Arizona; Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay; Ben Roethlisberger, Pittsburgh; Russell Wilson, Seattle

TIGHT ENDS (4)

*Tyler Eifert, Cincinnati; Rob Gronkowski, New England; *Travis Kelce, Kansas City; Greg Olsen, Carolina

TACKLES (6)

Jason Peters, Philadelphia; Tyron Smith, Dallas; Joe Staley, San Francisco; Joe Thomas, Cleveland; Andrew Whitworth, Cincinnati; Trent Williams, Washington

WIDE RECEIVERS (8)

Odell Beckham, Jr., New York Giants; Antonio Brown, Pittsburgh; Larry Fitzgerald, Arizona; A.J. Green, Cincinnati; *DeAndre Hopkins, Houston; Calvin Johnson, Detroit; Julio Jones, Atlanta; Brandon Marshall, New York Jets

GUARDS (6)

*David DeCastro, Pittsburgh; Mike Iupati, Arizona; Zack Martin, Dallas; Josh Sitton, Green Bay; *Trai Turner, Carolina; Marshal Yanda, Baltimore

RUNNING BACKS (6)

*Devonta Freeman, Atlanta; *Todd Gurley, St. Louis; Doug Martin, Tampa Bay; LeSean McCoy, Buffalo; Adrian Peterson, Minnesota; *Jonathan Stewart, Carolina

CENTERS (4)

Travis Frederick, Dallas; Ryan Kalil, Carolina; Alex Mack, Cleveland; Mike Pouncey, Miami

FULLBACKS (2)

Marcel Reece, Oakland; Mike Tolbert, Carolina

 

DEFENSE (36)

DEFENSIVE ENDS (6)

*Ezekiel Ansah, Detroit; *Michael Bennett, Seattle; *Chandler Jones, New England; *Khalil Mack, Oakland; J.J. Watt, Houston; *Muhammad Wilkerson, New York Jets

INSIDE/MIDDLE LINEBACKERS (4)

NaVorro Bowman, San Francisco; Luke Kuechly, Carolina; Clay Matthews, Green Bay; Bobby Wagner, Seattle

CORNERBACKS (8)

*Malcolm Butler, New England; Chris Harris, Jr., Denver; *Josh Norman, Carolina; *Marcus Peters, Kansas City; Patrick Peterson, Arizona; Darrelle Revis, New York Jets; Richard Sherman, Seattle; Aqib Talib, Denver

INTERIOR LINEMEN (6)

Geno Atkins, Cincinnati; Calais Campbell, Arizona; *Fletcher Cox, Philadelphia; Aaron Donald, St. Louis; Gerald McCoy, Tampa Bay; *Kawann Short, Carolina

OUTSIDE LINEBACKERS (6)

*Jamie Collins, New England; *Thomas Davis, Carolina; Tamba Hali, Kansas City; Justin Houston, Kansas City; Von Miller, Denver; DeMarcus Ware, Denver

FREE SAFETIES (3)

*Tyrann Mathieu, Arizona; *Reggie Nelson, Cincinnati; Earl Thomas, Seattle

STRONG SAFETIES (3)

Eric Berry, Kansas City; Kam Chancellor, Seattle; Charles Woodson, Oakland

 

SPECIALISTS (8)

PUNTERS (2)

*Sam Koch, Baltimore; Johnny Hekker, St. Louis;

RETURN SPECIALISTS (2)

*Tyler Lockett, Seattle; Darren Sproles, Philadelphia

PLACEKICKERS (2)

*Dan Bailey, Dallas; Stephen Gostkowski, New England;

SPECIAL TEAMERS (2)

Justin Bethel, Arizona; Matthew Slater, New England

 

2016 Pro Bowl Players by Team

 

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NFL Football: "2016 Pro Bowl Players Announced"