Bradley Chubb and Justin Simmons earn Pro Bowl nods

The 2021 NFL Pro Bowl rosters were announced on Monday. Two Denver Broncos players were voted in with outside linebacker Bradley Chubb earning his first ever Pro Bowl nod and got in as a “starter”. Safety Justin Simmons also got his first Pro Bowl nod after being snubbed last year despite earning Second-Team All-Pro honors in 2019.

Chubb, 24, had a slow start to the season as he came back from a long rehab from a knee injury last season. Once he got going, however, he has been among the league leaders in pressure with 30 quarterback pressures while also piling up 19 quarterback hits and 7.5 sacks on the season.

“It’s huge being able to get the Pro Bowl nod after all the things I went through last year with the knee, the rehab, doubting myself and doubting my abilities,” Chubb said. “To be surprised with this honor was huge. The work of my teammates this whole season to help me get here is very much appreciated. I’m thanking everyone in the organization for the opportunity—the trainers, [Head Athletic Trainer] Vince [Garcia] and [Assistant Athletic Trainer] Paul [Burant] for being in the treatment room with me and going through it with just us in there. It’s a blessing for sure.”

Simmons also had a slow start to the season, but has come up big for the Broncos at various times and has been much better as the season progressed. The 27 year old has earned his first Pro Bowl nod and will be looking to get a healthy contract extension from the Broncos this offseason.

“Man, it means so much,” Simmons said. “I think the toughest part was last year feeling like I kind of earned a spot just from the season. I know team wise we finished 7-9 and just the way it went probably wasn’t the best season, but individually thought I put a pretty good resume together. I think what stunk the most was not even being an alternate, and then earning All-Pro kind of helped that. So, this offseason even with everything going on I felt like there’s a lot of motivation in that. I had a lot of team goals, but individually I think there was a lot of motivation coming in this year because I just felt like—for whatever reason—part of my game wasn’t being considered as some of the best of what this league has to offer in terms of safety play. So, there’s a lot of motivation behind this year and [I] kind of wanted to make sure I solidified myself again—playing under the tag—all that stuff. A lot of adversity, but I think it just speaks volumes to just the way that I’ve been able to kind of persevere and handle that. I saw—right before I got on I saw the interview with Chubb and I got teary eyed thinking about it. He called me earlier today and he kind of told me the news that he made it too, and I mean shoot, I got emotional then too. Just for him to have the rookie season that he had, and obviously what happened with the knee injury and then to come back and make a Pro Bowl year out of what was a difficult season for us as a team. I mean, it just speaks volumes to him and what he can do, man. He’s an unbelievable guy and I’m so happy that I get to somewhat share his experience in terms of both of us getting in for the first time.”

The biggest snub for the Broncos this year is likely Garett Bolles who has completely turned his game around in 2020. Sometimes the Pro Bowl voting lags a year behind when it comes to how well a player is or isn’t playing, so keep an eye out for him during next year’s vote.

Here is your complete 2021 Pro Bowl roster for both the AFC and NFC. An asterisk denotes a starter on these lists.