Landry makes third pro bowl
Dolphins wide receiver added to roster in place of injured Hopkins.
Dolphins receiver Jarvis Landry will go to the Pro Bowl after all, marking the third consecutive year he’ll finish a season in the all-star game.
Landry was named by the NFL on Tuesday to replace injured Texans receiver DeAndre Hopkins.
Landry becomes the fourth Dolphins receiver to be named to the Pro Bowl three times and is only the second receiver, along with Mark Clayton, to do it three years in a row.
Other Dolphins wide receiv
ers to earn Pro Bowl selections are Paul Warfield (1970-74), Nat Moore (1977), Mark Duper (198384, 1986), Clayton (1984-86, 1988, 1991), Irving Fryar (1993-94), Chris Chambers (2005) and Brandon Marshall (2011).
Landry caught 112 passes to lead
the NFL this season, breaking his team record of 110 set in 2015. He had 987 yards and a career-best
nine touchdowns.
Landry joins safety Reshad Jones in representing the Dolphins in the Pro Bowl, although more replacements could be named as
players withdraw or are unable to participate because their team qualified for the Super Bowl.
The Pro Bowl will be at 3 p.m. Jan. 28 in Orlando. Tickets are available at NFL.com/ProBowlOnSale.
Phillips headed toward elite?
The idea of Dolphins defensive
tackle Jordan Phillips aspiring toward the distinction of being
one of the elites at his position would’ve sounded absurd a year
ago. Even he admits that wouldn’t have been believable.
But Phillips set out to change the book on him this season and made some headway. Starting
late in the preseason, he showed Miami coaches he was serious about growing into a mainstay
and fought off impressive rookie
Davon Godchaux for the starting
job. Phillips fought through injuries and put together a satisfying
year that showed promise heading toward next season.
“I felt like I accomplished
what I was trying to do,” Phil- lips said. “I had a better year, still wasn’t where I wanted it to be, but showed improvement and that’s all you can ask for.”
Coach Adam Gase and defensive coordinator Matt Burke both gave Phillips good reviews late in the season, his third since Miami took him in the second round of the 2015 draft.
The first two years were marked by underachievement, which has been the story on Phillips dating back to his time at Oklahoma. He was determined to maintain his effort this season.
“It’s just disappointing the way that I came into the league,” he said. “I’m just trying to change the views from you guys’ perspective to everybody around. I want to be a great player.”
Phillips had 16 tackles, two sacks and five quarterback hits this year. He missed three games,
but played at least 48 percent of the defensive snaps eight times.
The upcoming season will be the last on his rookie deal, setting him up to reach an extension with the Dolphins this offseason or hit unrestricted free agency in March 2019. Phillips didn’t say whether he intends to pursue an extension. He carries a modest $1.4 mil
lion salary cap hit for next season, which is good for Miami considering Ndamukong Suh is set to count for $26.1 million.