Antonio Cromartie, Duane Brown named to Pro Bowl

By Cory Buck | Jan 19, 2015

Dec 28, 2014; Santa Clara, CA, USA; Arizona Cardinals cornerback Antonio Cromartie (31) runs through drills in warmups before the game against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi /

Cornerback Antonio Cromartie and tackle Duane Brown have been added to the Pro Bowl pool after several players were dropped from the game.

In light of Richard Sherman and the Seattle Seahawks returning to the Super Bowl, Arizona Cardinals cornerback Antonio Cromartie has been named to the Pro Bowl. Additionally, Houston Texans tackle Duane Brown was named to the game after Philadelphia Eagles tackle Jason Peters bowed out of the game, with both players named per Pro Football Talk. The rosters will be selected by former NFL receivers Cris Carter and Michael Irvin.

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Since the Pro Bowl has been shifted to the week before the Super Bowl rather than the week after, we have seen more alternates named to the game than ever before. Given that the two teams to play in the Super Bowl automatically forfeit all their players’ involvement in the game, this adds a number of new faces to the pool each year.

This is the fourth Pro Bowl nomination for Antonio Cromartie, who had a resurgent 2014 with the vaunted Cardinals defense, which carried the team to an 11-win season and its first playoff berth since losing in the second round in 2009, one year after their run to the Super Bowl under Kurt Warner.

The Cardinals are hoping to be able to re-sign Cromartie, who lined up opposite Patrick Peterson and contributed to one of the staunchest secondaries in the league.

Duane Brown, meanwhile, was probably only not originally named to the Pro Bowl because of the team on which he plays. Brown has been one of the best tackles in the NFL for some time now, and it was only a matter of an injury or two before he’d be named to the team once again.

The Pro Bowl hasn’t just undergone a new start time. The NFL rolled out a new format last season that looks eerily similar (read: a carbon copy) to the NHL All-Star game format. Instead of current players selecting teams like they do in hockey though, it’s former NFL greats who select the teams.

This year, former Minnesota Vikings receiver Cris Carter will select a team opposite that chosen by former Dallas Cowboys great Michael Irvin.

The game will take place on Sunday, January 25th at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Arizona, where the Super Bowl will take place one week later. The Seattle Seahawks will defend their Super Bowl title against the New England Patriots in that tilt.

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