FOXBOROUGH, Mass. - S Brandon Meriweather and WR Randy Mosswere named as alternates to the AFC Pro Bowl squad today. Meriweather and Moss will join teammates QB Tom Brady, G Logan Mankins and NT Vince Wilfork as Patriots' representatives for the AFC squad.
It is the seventh Pro Bowl selection for Moss (1998, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003 and 2007) and his second since joining the Patriots in 2007. It is the first Pro Bowl selection for Meriweather.
Meriweather set career highs in 2009 with five interceptions and 83 total tackles. His 83 tackles led all Patriots' defensive backs for the second straight season. He was named AFC Defensive Player of the Week (Week 7 at Tampa Bay) by the National Football League after intercepting two passes against the Buccaneers and returning one 39 yards for his first career touchdown. The University of Miami product is in his third season with the Patriots after being drafted in the first round (24th overall) in 2007. He has played in 48 games with 27 starting assignments during his time with New England.
Moss finished the season with 83 receptions for 1,264 receiving yards and tied for the NFL lead with 13 receiving touchdowns. Moss's 13 touchdowns are second in Patriots' history to the team-record 23 he had in 2007. He became the seventh player in NFL history to reach 14,000 receiving yards and now ranks sixth on the all-time list with 14,465. In addition, he became the 11th player to reach the 900 career receptions milestone this season and now ranks 10th with 926 receptions. Moss reached 1,000-yards receiving in 2009 for the 10th time in his career. He joins Jerry Rice (14 seasons) as the only players in NFL history to record 10 seasons with 1,000 receiving yards. Moss and Welker became the first Patriots duo to have back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons last season and have now stretched that to three straight 1,000-yard seasons. It is the sixth time in NFL history a team has had two players go three straight seasons with 1,000 yards.
