Ndamukong Suh was voted to the Pro Bowl for the third straight year and the fourth time in five seasons, but the Detroit Lions defensive tackle will have to decide if it's worth playing in the NFL's All-Star game with free agency looming.
Suh, whose rookie contract voids five days after the Super Bowl, was one of three Lions selected to the Pro Bowl tonight.
Calvin Johnson was chosen for the fifth straight year, and Glover Quin was picked for the first time in his six NFL seasons.
Suh, the leader of the Lions' No. 2-ranked defense, missed the Pro Bowl as a rookie after undergoing postseason shoulder surgery, but he played in the game each of the last two years.
He leads the Lions with 8.5 sacks, the second most of his career, and is the biggest reason the Lions have the league's top-ranked run defense.
"There's been very few times in your life you get a chance to work with a guy that has the kind of talents that Suh has," Lions coach Jim Caldwell said last week.
Quin, like Suh, has been an integral part of a defense that's the biggest reason the Lions are 11-4 and have a chance to win their first division title in 21 years this weekend against the Green Bay Packers.
He leads the NFL with seven interceptions, including one in each of the last four games, and is fourth on the team with 65 tackles.
Quin has spoken openly about his belief that he and his partner at safety, James Ihedigbo, deserved to be selected to the Pro Bowl, and he tweeted a message saying, "THANK YOU JESUS!!! SO HONORED!!" on Tuesday.
Ihedigbo and two other key members of the Lions defense, linebacker DeAndre Levy (140 tackles) and end Ziggy Ansah (7.5 sacks) were passed over for the game.
Levy and Ihedigbo are Pro Bowl alternates.
"When you say the best safety, if you're talking this year, I would have to put myself in the conversation," Quin said last week. "When you're talking who's having the best career, who I would say is the best safety of my time right now, I wouldn't sit here and say that I'm the best guy because I haven't done it for that long. I'm only in year six. I've only been playing safety for three or four years and those guys have been doing it for a lot longer than me."
Johnson has missed three games with a high ankle sprain and been limited in two others, but he has three 100-yard receiving games in the last four weeks and went over 1,000 yards receiving for the fifth straight year.
Golden Tate, who leads the Lions with 96 catches for 1,286 yards and finished ahead of Johnson in fan voting – Tate was 10th among receivers, Johnson was not in the top 10 – is one of two Lions' alternates on offense.
Quarterback Matthew Stafford, who ranks seventh in the NFL with 4,040 yards passing and has cut down on his interceptions (from 19 last year to 12 through 15 games) is the fourth alternate among quarterbacks.
