Jets’ Muhammad Wilkerson gets first Pro Bowl spot
Muhammad Wilkerson, who has 12 sacks, got his first nod to the Pro Bowl. Credit: Jim McIsaac
FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — Muhammad Wilkerson is finally headed to Hawaii.
The Jets defensive end, who leads the team with a career-high 12 sacks, earned his first Pro Bowl selection Tuesday. Cornerback Darrelle Revis was selected for a seventh time and receiver Brandon Marshall for a sixth.
Center Nick Mangold and running back Chris Ivory are first alternates.
“I’m happy that I made it,” Wilkerson said. “But I wouldn’t be able to make it if it wasn’t for my teammates, who are out there doing their job with me, and the coaches that prepare me for these different games each and every week and put me in a position to make plays and help out the team.”
Marshall credited Ivory and No. 2 receiver Eric Decker, as well as quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick.
“I wouldn’t have been here if it wasn’t for ‘FitzMagic.’ ”
Revis echoed those sentiments by crediting his teammates. “It’s always an honor making the Pro Bowl. I’ve been privileged,” he said. “Hard work pays off. I couldn’t without a lot of people that helped along the way . . . I just want to thank those guys for this year and what we’ve accomplished as a team.”
Sign of the times
Six weeks after holding a cardboard sign that read “Will Run Routes 4 Food” outside of the Houston Texans’ facility, wide receiver Joe Anderson was signed to the Jets practice squad Tuesday. The image of his humble request — “Not homeless … but STARVING for success!!! … #WhateverItTakes #Underdog #IBelieve #Hungry,” he wrote on his sign — went viral, but the married father of two never got the Texans tryout he had been seeking. Instead, he wound up on the Jets a week after he worked out for the team.
“I’m so very grateful from the bottom of my heart of the entire @nyjets organization for taking a chance on a kid with literally just a couple dollars and a dream and a heart to prove to others who give up on themselves in life that it’s truly possible!” he wrote on Instagram, beneath a practice picture of him and Marshall.
Anderson, who went undrafted in 2012, played nine games (mostly on special teams) for the Bears from 2012-13.
Marshall, who was one of his teammates in Chicago, posted a photo on Instagram of Anderson outside the Texans’ facility last month and wrote: “Wow, this is humility right here. My brother @_joeanderson is one of the hardest working guys I’ve ever had the pleasure of playing with. …JOE you’re the of guy I want to play with. You’re the guy I want in my FOXHOLE. I don’t care if it’s covering kicks.”
