The New Orleans Saints and Indianapolis Colts had seven Pro Bowlers each, but with the Pro Bowl taking place the Sunday before the Super Bowl this season, they’ll now have no one in the league’s annual all-star game. So the NFL announced today that 14 new Pro Bowlers have been added to the game to replace those 14 Super Bowl players.
We’ve previously noted that Jaguars quarterback David Garrard is going in place of Peyton Manning and Redskins linebacker London Fletcher is going in place of Jonathan Vilma.
Via NFL.com, the rest of the AFC replacements are Chargers receiver Vincent Jackson (replacing Reggie Wayne), Steelers tight end Heath Miller (replacing Dallas Clark), Titans center Kevin Mawae (replacing Jeff Saturday), Titans defensive end Kyle Vanden Bosch (replacing Dwight Freeney), Jets defensive end Shaun Ellis (replacing Robert Mathis) and Dolphins safety Yeremiah Bell (replacing Antoine Bethea).
The NFC replacements are Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb (replacing Drew Brees), Giants tackle David Diehl (replacing Jon Stinchcomb), Giants guard Chris Snee (replacing Jahri Evans), Panthers center Ryan Kalil (replacing Jonathan Goodwin), Cardinals free safety Antrel Rolle (replacing Darren Sharper) and Eagles strong safety Quintin Mikell (replacing Roman Harper).
Expect an announcement in the next day or two that a few more players have been added to replace some injured Vikings.