KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee VFLs Morgan Cox, Alvin Kamara and Cordarrelle Patterson were selected to the 2021 Pro Bowl, the National Football League announced this week.
The 2021 Pro Bowl Game originally was scheduled to be played Jan. 31 in Las Vegas, but was canceled due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Instead, the NFL is working with EA Sports to create a week-long series of matchups featuring celebrities, NFL legends, current players and streamers playing the official Pro Bowl rosters on Madden NFL 21. The week culminates in a virtual Pro Bowl game with 2021 Pro Bowl players playing within Madden, which will be available for fans to watch across a variety of platforms.
The 2021 Pro Bowl selections mark the fourth for each of the three VFLs. Kamara has been selected to the Pro Bowl in each of his first four seasons and is the first player in the New Orleans Saints’ franchise history to do so. Cox and Patterson have both made their second consecutive Pro Bowl roster.
Kamara, selected as a running back, has played in 14 games with 10 starts, leading the Saints in both rushing and receiving on the season. The VFL has amassed 777 yards on 165 carries and 10 touchdowns and ranks first in the league among running backs in catches and receiving yards with 80 catches for 739 yards and five touchdowns.
The fourth-year Saint ranks third in the NFL with 1,516 total yards from scrimmage, 83 first downs and is tied for third with 15 total scores.
Patterson, selected as a kick returner, has been named to the Pro Bowl in both of his seasons with the Chicago Bears. This season, Patterson leads the NFL with a 29.44-yard average on 32 returns. On Nov. 16 against the Vikings, Patterson scored on a 104-yard kickoff return to record the longest return in Bears’ franchise history. That enabled him to tie the NFL all-time record of eight career kickoff return touchdowns with Joshua Cribbs and Leon Washington.
The eighth-year NFL veteran ranks second in the NFL record books with a 29.8-yard career kickoff return average, trailing only Hall of Famer Gale Sayers.
Cox, selected as a long snapper, was selected to his second-straight Pro Bowl by NFL players and coaches as long snappers were added to the player and coach voting system in 2019. The 11-year NFL veteran has appeared in 13 games this season and 163 games throughout his career.
-UT Athletics
