Perfect Panthers put 10 on team
Carolina has sights set on bigger goal than trip to Hawaii.
The Carolina Panthers, who are two wins away from a perfect regular season, lead the NFL with 10 players selected for the Pro Bowl. Quarterback Cam Newton was picked Tuesday for the third time. Five of his teammates were first-time selections, including cornerback Josh Norman and linebacker Thomas Davis.
Seattle, Arizona and New England each had seven players selected, and Cincinnati had five players picked.
Raiders safety CharlesWoodson, who announced Monday he will retire after the season, was selected for the ninth time.
Hall of Famers Jerry Rice and Michael Irvin will serve as alumni team captains for their Pro Bowl teams. The draft will be on Jan. 27.
The Pro Bowl will be held on Jan. 31 in Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, Hawaii.
Rather than play in the Pro Bowl, the Panthers (14-0) hope they’re on a plane that day headed for northern California, site of Super Bowl 50 on Feb. 7.
“That’ll be just fine with me,” Davis said recently. “I won’t have any issues with that.”
Newton, the leading candidate for league MVP, was the second-leading vote-getter in the fan balloting behind Patriots quarterback Tom Brady.
Coaches and players, who make up the final two-thirds of the selection process, voted last week.
Newton was joined by five offensive teammates: running back Jonathan Stewart, tight end Greg Olsen, fullback Mike Tolbert, center Ryan Kalil and guard Trai Turner.
Like Davis, Kalil would rather be in Santa Clara than Honolulu this year.
“No,” Kalil said when asked about Hawaii. “I want to go to the Super Bowl.”
It was the second honor in as many years for Olsen, who topped the 1,000-yard receiving mark last week for the second consecutive season. “Obviously it’s always a good honor,” he said. “But we have bigger things on our mind.”
Stewart received his first Pro Bowl nod in his first season as the Panthers’ featured back after the team cut ties with franchise rushing leader DeAngeloWilliams in the offseason. Stewart, who is recovering from a sprained foot, has a career-high 242 rushes for 989 yards.
The Panthers had four defensive players selected: Davis, middle linebacker Luke Kuechly and a pair of first-timers in Norman and defensive tackle Kawann Short.
It’s the third straight year Kuechly has been named to the Pro Bowl.