Three VFLs each ready for third Pro Bowl
Published 9:13 pm Sunday, January 26, 2020
CONTRIBUTED BY UT ATHLETICS
ORLANDO – NFL VFLs Morgan Cox, Alvin Kamara, and Cordarrelle Patterson will each play in their third Pro Bowl on Sunday at 3 p.m. at Camping World Stadium. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN and ABC.
A total of 43 former Vols have tallied 138 Pro Bowl appearances all-time.
Cox, a long-snapper for the Baltimore Ravens, will play in his third Pro Bowl after also appearing in 2015 and 2016. The 10-year pro has played in 150 games over his career – all with the Ravens. He handled all the snaps for a Baltimore team that finished 14-2 in the regular season in 2019.
The Collierville, Tenn., native was a four-time SEC Academic Honor Roll selection with the Vols from 2006-09, serving as Tennessee’s long-snapper for 39 games from 2007-09.
Kamara is headed to his third straight Pro Bowl after another standout season for the New Orleans Saints.
He has been selected all three years of his career and has already established himself as one of the NFL’s brightest young stars and top all-purpose running backs. He finished with over 1,300 total yards for the third straight season in 2019 and was second among running backs in receptions (81) despite missing two games.
During his two seasons with the Volunteers, Kamara collected 1,294 rushing yards, 683 receiving yards and 300 yards on special teams. He reached the end zone 13 times in 2016 alone, for a total of 24 career touchdowns.
Kamara also recorded four games of 100 rushing yards or more for the Big Orange. He finished his career at Tennessee averaging 94.9 all-purpose yards per game.
Patterson, a kick returner for the Chicago Bears, heads to the Pro Bowl for a third time after making the trip to the all-star game with the Minnesota Vikings in 2014 and 2016.
Patterson led the NFL in total kick return yards (825) in 2019 and ranked second in yards per kick return (29.5). His career kick return average of 29.9 is second in NFL history behind only Gale Sayers (30.6) and his seven kick return touchdowns are third behind only Josh Cribbs (8) and Leon Washington (8).
Patterson played one memorable season with Tennessee in 2012, setting the school record for all-purpose yardage with 1,858 yards.
The former two-time junior college All-American from Rock Hill, S.C., scored a touchdown four different ways (five receiving, three rushing, one kick return, one punt return) and averaged 28.0 yards per kick return.