Pro Bowl door opened for others as KC Chiefs make Super Bowl
By Matt Conner
Since the Pro Bowlers from the Chiefs won’t be playing in the actual game, the door has opened for others in the AFC.
The Kansas City Chiefs are getting used to this whole “let’s skip the Pro Bowl exercise.” With three Super Bowl appearances in the last four seasons, it’s actually become a rarity for a Chiefs player elected to the Pro Bowl to be able to make it to the event.
When a team makes it to the Super Bowl, those players remain focused on the big game—as they should—and skip the Pro Bowl, which is always held the weekend before the NFL’s championship game. With the Philadelphia Eagles and Chiefs both in this year’s Super Bowl, that means a lot of spots on both rosters have opened up for other players to earn the NFL’s equivalent of an All-Star nod.
Given that the Chiefs had seven players nominated to play in this year’s Pro Bowl, it means that many extra players will be invited to Las Vegas for this year’s festivities—to be held this week. The list of replaced Chiefs includes left tackle Orlando Brown, center Creed Humphrey, defensive lineman Chris Jones, tight end Travis Kelce, quarterback Patrick Mahomes, offensive lineman Joe Thuney, and punter Tommy Townsend.
Two members of the Buffalo Bills benefitted from the Chiefs making the big game with the news that Dion Dawkins will replace Orlando Brown as an offensive tackle and Dawson Knox gets a nod for the AFC at tight end.
Wyatt Teller of the Cleveland Browns will be taking over for Joe Thuney along the offensive interior. The same can be said of Tennessee Titans center Ben Jones, who will cover for Chiefs center Creed Humphrey.
On the defensive side, Chris Jones’ absence will be filled by Cam Heyward of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Even on special teams, the Chiefs are also opening up a spot. Tommy Townsend will be punting in the big game, which means A.J. Cole of the Las Vegas Raiders can be rewarded for a good season as well.
As of press time, the only decision left to be made was around Patrick Mahomes’ slot on the AFC roster.
Next. Chiefs who hope to play in their first Super Bowl. dark