Pro Bowl Games rosters include 9 with Alabama roots

Pro Bowl Games rosters include 9 with Alabama roots

Nine players from Alabama high schools and colleges from Alabama high schools and colleges have been selected as Pro Bowl Games all-stars for the NFL’s 2023 season. Seven are Alabama alumni, and eight are on the AFC team.

The Pro Bowlers with Alabama football roots for this season include:

· Jacksonville Jaguars outside linebacker Josh Allen (Abbeville)

· Cleveland Browns wide receiver Amari Cooper (Alabama)

· Philadelphia Eagles guard Landon Dickerson (Alabama)

· Pittsburgh Steelers free safety Minkah Fitzpatrick (Alabama)

· Tennessee Titans running back Derrick Henry (Alabama)

· Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill (West Alabama)

· Denver Broncos cornerback Patrick Surtain II (Alabama)

· Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa (Alabama)

· New York Jets defensive tackle Quinnen Williams (Wenonah, Alabama)

Cooper, Hill, Surtain, Tagovailoa and Williams were selected as AFC starters.

Tagovailoa is a first-time Pro Bowler. Dickerson, Surtain and Williams were picked for the second time after their first selections last year. Allen also is a second-time selection, but his first came in 2019. Cooper also most recently had been a Pro Bowler in 2019; this is the wide receiver’s fifth selection. Fitzpatrick and Henry had been picked four times apiece, and Hill is an eight-time Pro Bowler.

The choices made by fans, players and coaches counted one-third apiece toward determining the Pro Bowl Games rosters for the AFC and NFC teams.

Last year, 14 of the original Pro Bowl Games choices had Alabama football roots. Players picked in 2022 but not 2023 included Washington Commanders defensive tackle Jonathan Allen (Alabama), Dallas Cowboys cornerback Trevon Diggs (Alabama), Baltimore Ravens cornerback Marlon Humphrey (Hoover, Alabama), Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts (Alabama), Las Vegas Raiders running back Josh Jacobs (Alabama), New York Jets inside linebacker C.J. Mosley (Theodore, Alabama), Washington Commanders special-teamer Jeremy Reaves (South Alabama) and Cleveland Browns defensive end Za’Darius Smith (Greenville).

In 2022, the NFL eliminated the Pro Bowl game and replaced it with the Pro Bowl Games, a skills competition and flag-football contest for the selected players.

The 7-on-7 flag football game featuring the Pro Bowl players will be held on Feb. 4 at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Florida, as the culmination of a multi-day AFC vs. NFC competition in which all-stars will demonstrate their football and non-football skills in a variety of events.

FOR MORE OF AL.COM’S COVERAGE OF THE NFL, GO TO OUR NFL PAGE

Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.