Joel Bitonio, Myles Garrett, Amari Cooper head up 5 Browns selected for Pro Bowl Games
BEREA — Five Cleveland Browns players earned spots in the Pro Bowl Games, the NFL announced Wednesday evening. They also had six others chosen as alternates.
Left guard Joel Bitonio, defensive end Myles Garrett, wide receiver Amari Cooper, tight end David Njoku and cornerback Denzel Ward were selected for the game. Bitonio, Garrett and Cooper were chosen as starters.
The Pro Bowlers were chosen based upon a vote divided up into thirds between players, coaches and fans. The Pro Bowl Games will be a multi-day AFC versus NFC competition culminating Feb. 4 at Camping World Stadium in Orlando.
The Browns alternates were kicker Dustin Hopkins, punter Corey Bojorquez, safety Grant Delpit, linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, center Ethan Pocic and right guard Wyatt Teller. Hopkins was one of three Browns who finished as the top vote-getter among the fans in the AFC at their respective positions, along with Bitonio and Garrett.
Bitonio was chosen for his sixth consecutive Pro Bowl, which it tied for the fourth-most selections in franchise history behind Pro Football Hall of Famers Joe Thomas (10), Jim Brown (nine) and Lou Groza (nine). He's the first Browns guard since Hall of Famer Gene Hickerson (1968-71) to be selected to six consecutive Pro Bowls.
Garrett is making his fifth Pro Bowl appearance, including his fourth consecutive. He's sixth in the NFL with 14 sacks, and is the only player in the league to log at least that many sacks in each of the past three seasons (2021-23) and the only one to record at least 10 sacks in each of the past six seasons (2018-23).
Cooper will be making his first Pro Bowl appearance in two seasons with the Browns, but it's his fifth overall, including time with the Oakland Raiders and Dallas Cowboys. His 1,250 receiving yards this season makes him the first Browns player to have back-to-back 1,000-yard receiving seasons, and he set a single-game franchise record with 265 receiving yards in a Dec. 24 win at the Houston Texans.
Ward will be heading to his third Pro Bowl, joining Frank Minnifield (four) and Hanford Dixon (three) as the only Browns cornerbacks to make three or more Pro Bowls. He has recorded two interceptions and 11 passes defensed while helping the Browns defense lead the NFL in several categories, including total defense (266.6 yards per game) and passing defense (165.9 yards per game).
The Pro Bowl nod will be Njoku's first in his seven seasons in the league. He has a team-best 81 catches, and his 882 yards and six receiving touchdowns are both career highs.
Fans can visit ProBowl.com/tickets to buy tickets, which start as low as $45. The event will also be televised from 3-6 p.m. on ESPN, ABC, Disney XD, ESPN+ and ESPN Deportes.
Chris Easterling can be reached at ceasterling@thebeaconjournal.com. Read more about the Browns at www.beaconjournal.com/sports/browns. Follow him on Twitter at @ceasterlingABJ
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Joel Bitonio, Myles Garrett, Amari Cooper lead 5 Browns Pro Bowl picks
