The weekend's NFL playoff results have ensured that Brian Orakpo will make his second straight trip to Hawaii to play in the Pro Bowl. The Redskins' linebacker will replace either Clay Matthews or Lance Briggs, because one of the two will make the Super Bowl and therefore make them ineligible for the game.
Orakpo was originally selected as an alternate to the game, but his fate was sealed when the Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers both won last weekend. Since the Pro Bowl has been moved to the week before the Super Bowl, it cannot include players who are actually playing in the big game. Alternates will be selected to replace those players, and since Orakpo was the first alternate at linebacker in the NFC, he will be a part of the game.
This means that Orakpo will have been a Pro Bowler in each of his first two seasons. Rich Campbell of the Fredericksburg Free-Lance Star reports that no Redskins player has ever done that in franchise history. Orakpo will join cornerback DeAngelo Hall as the only Redskins to participate in the game.
The Pro Bowl will take place on January 30 at 7 p.m. on FOX.