Chad Greenway Named To Pro Bowl Roster With Lance Briggs Injured

Jared Allen will have some company from the Minnesota Vikings in the 2012 NFL Pro Bowl. Linebacker Chad Greenway has been named to the NFC roster as of Monday, due to the absence of Chicago Bears linebacker Lance Briggs. The game is on Jan. 29, and Briggs will not be healthy by that time, so Greenway gets the nod for his first ever Pro Bowl appearance. He joins Allen as the only players representing the Vikings this season.

Greenway just signed a five-year, $41 million extension in September, and earned it by leading the Vikings in tackles with 174, according to the team. The league has him with 154 tackles, good for third in the NFL. He came close to making the Pro Bowl in 2010, and the Vikings considered him their defensive MVP on the season.

It's a great consolation for a player who has never made the Pro Bowl, especially following an extremely disappointing 3-13 season, tied for the worst record in franchise history. While Greenway would likely give up the Pro Bowl in a second to have been playing this past weekend, he's still extremely deserving of the honor.

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Pro Bowl Rosters 2012: Jared Allen Represents Vikings Only Player For NFC

Defensive end Jared Allen will be the Minnesota Vikings' lone representative at this year's Pro Bowl. Allen won the fans' vote, which was wrapped up last week, and the selection was announced Tuesday night on NFL Network.

This will be Allen's fourth Pro Bowl after not making the team last year when running back Adrian Peterson was the team's only selection. Allen has 18.5 sacks this season and is just 2.5 sacks shy of the Vikings' franchise record.

Peterson fell out of favor due to a high ankle sprain forced him to miss three games. A torn ACL upon returning from the ankle injury would've ultimately prevented him from playing in the game anyway.

Other candidates to make the team were wide receiver Percy Harvin and center John Sullivan.

The news comes on the heels of the 3-12 team announcing that seven-time Pro Bowler Steve Hutchinson has been placed on the injured reserve.

Pro Bowl Voting: Jared Allen Tops NFC Defensive Ends

Jared Allen is likely headed to his fourth Pro Bowl is the results of this year's fan voting have anything to say about it. Fan Voting accounts for a third of the selection process, but Allen received the most votes among NFC defensive ends, which likely makes him a lock for the January 29th game in Honolulu:

NFC LEADING VOTE-GETTERS BY POSITION

Running back Adrian Peterson fell out of the lead at the running back position, as LeSean McCoy took over the lead as a result of Peterson's injury.

Adrian Peterson Likely Headed To Pro Bowl According To Latest Voting Totals

Pro Bowl Voting Update: Adrian Peterson Leads Running Backs

As November drew to a close on Wednesday Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson was among the top vote-getters in the NFL for the 2012 Pro Bowl. According to an official release from the NFL, Peterson was fifth among all players for the event and he has the most votes among running backs:

New England Patriots quarterback TOM BRADY (873,424 votes) leads all AFC players and ranks second overall, while Detroit Lions wide receiver CALVIN JOHNSON (743,335 votes), New England Patriots wide receiver WES WELKER (684,591 votes) and Minnesota Vikings running back ADRIAN PETERSON (680,428 votes) round out the top five on NFL.com.

Jared Allen is also one of the top-rated players according to the fans. Allen has received 488,239 votes to lead all NFL defensive players. Allen is the only defensive player that has received over 400,000 votes to date. Balloting will finish on December 19th.

Pro Bowl Voting Update: Vikings' Adrian Peterson, Jared Allen Lead Their Positions

Adrian Peterson and Jared Allen lead their positions in Pro Bowl balloting votes so far, with Peterson fourth overall in the NFL and Allen tops among all defensive players.