The Pro Bowl rosters are out, and the first thing many fans will check is whether the AFC team includes Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow.
It doesn’t. The AFC quarterbacks are Tom Brady, Ben Roethlisberger, and Philip Rivers.
Tebow finished third in the fan voting, which counts for one third of the total vote. Voting by coaches and players provides the other 66.6 percent of the process.
The bigger question is whether Tebow is fourth, fifth, or sixth. Brady surely won’t play in the Pro Bowl, and Roethlisberger easily could point to one of several actual, embellished, or imagined injuries. The quarterback from the Super Bowl representative also won’t be attending. Thus, Tebow ultimately could be invited.
Brady is the AFC starting quarterback. The rest of the starting lineup of offense includes Ravens running back Ray Rice, Ravens fullback Vonta Leach, Patriots receiver Wes Welker, Steelers receiver Mike Wallace, Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski, Browns tackle Joe Thomas, Dolphins tackle Jake Long, Patriots guard Logan Mankins, Patriots guard Brian Waters, and Steelers center Maurkice Pouncey.
The starting AFC defense has Colts defensive end Dwight Freeney, Patriots defensive end Andre Carter, Ravens defensive tackle Haloti Ngata, Patriots defensive tackle Vince Wilfork, Ravens outside linebacker Terrell Suggs, Broncos outside linebacker Von Miller, Ravens middle linebacker Ray Lewis, Jets cornerback Darrelle Revis, Broncos cornerback Champ Bailey, Ravens safety Ed Reed, and Steelers safety Troy Polamalu.
The specialists are Raiders kicker Sebastian Janikowski, Raiders punter Shane Lechler, Steelers kick returner Antonio Brown, and Patriots special-teamer Matthew Slater.
The backups, other than Roethlisberger and Rivers, are Jaguars running back Maurice Jones-Drew, Texans running back Arian Foster, Bengals receiver A.J. Green, Dolphins receiver Brandon Marshall, Chargers tight end Antonio Gates, Jets tackle D’Brickashaw Ferguson, Ravens guard Marshal Yanda, Jets center Nick Mangold, Broncos defensive end Elvis Dumervil, Raiders defensive lineman Richard Seymour, Chiefs linebacker Tamba Hali, Chiefs linebacker Derrick Johnson, Texans cornerback Johnathan Joseph, and Chargers safety Eric Weddle.