The 2017 NFL Pro Bowl will be held in Orlando, Florida on Sunday, January 29th. The NFL’s “best” players come together to represent their respective teams in a friendly football match.
Minus the year 2009 in Miami, the Pro Bowl has been held at Aloha Stadium in Hawaii every year since 1980. However, for the next few years at least, the game will be played at Camping World Stadium (the former Citrus Bowl) in Orlando.
The Format
The NFL has been experimenting with different ways to organize the game over the last few years. This year, they have decided to pit the AFC players vs the NFC players, reverting to the classic format.
They also added a number of skills challenges, fun contests, and team games that have been broadcast and re-aired throughout the week, including an event where drones dropped footballs that players were not allowed to let hit the ground.
The official skills challenges concluded with a victory for the NFC, when Ezekiel Elliot pegged T.Y. Hilton to eliminate him, the last remaining AFC player, from the final game of dodgeball.
Click here for a thorough review of the Pro Bowl Skills Challenge.
Captains and Coaches
Team Captains for the AFC are Jerome Bettis and Ray Lewis, and the squad will be coached by Kansas City’s Andy Reid and his staff.
The NFL is led by captains Tony Gonzalez and Charles Woodson and will be coached by Jason Garrett and his Cowboys coaches.
The Rosters
As usual, a number of players declined to participate in the event. 10 players had to pass because of the Super Bowl, including the starting quarterbacks for each team in Tom Brady and Matt Ryan.
In fact, this year, 37 players in total turned down their Pro Bowl invitation. Some are legitimately injured, like Oakland’s Derek Carr, while others would rather stay home and rest.
The Titans had five players selected to the game, including OT Taylor Lewan, RB DeMarco Murray, TE Delanie Walker, OLB Brian Orakpo, and DE Jurrell Casey.
OT Jack Conklin and FB Jalston Fowler were named Pro Bowl alternates, but neither managed to make it on the final team.
QB Marcus Mariota was also an alternate, but due to his broken fibula, he will not be adding a Pro Bowl selection to his resume.
For a run-through of the complete Pro Bowl rosters, click HERE.
TV Broadcast Information
When: 7:00PM CST
TV: ESPN
Voices: Sean McDonough, Jon Gruden, and Lisa Salters
Online: WatchESPN