All-star games are a counting man’s game. While an honorable award and certainly one worth celebrating, most NFL players don’t play the grueling game to go to the Pro Bowl.
For seasoned vets that have seen and gone to the spectacle, a bid to be a Pro Bowler is simply a resumé booster for an application into the Hall of Fame. At least, it is for Houston Texans wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins.
Hopkins said on Thursday, “to be considered at the top, it’s an honor.” But, he also said that it’s not what he practices for. The goal is not to play in it, as that would hint at being in the Super Bowl.
“That’s the reason that we come out to practice every day, for that reason, not to play in the Pro Bowl,” Hopkins said.
Hopkins has his eyes set on the Super Bowl, as all Texans players and members of other playoff-eligible do. Through his first six seasons in the NFL, he didn’t get close to sniffing it, as Houston has never gone as far as the AFC Championship.
At 9-5, Hopkins’ Texans are the AFC’s fourth seed. They can lock-up their spot in the playoffs, and a subsequent first-round home game, if they beat the 7-7 Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Saturday, who have won four straight.
“Those guys have some injuries, they still got a good team over there,” said Hopkins. “So we got to come out and focus and take it play by play.”
On the season, Hopkins has 99 receptions for 1,142 yards and seven touchdowns. Not only is he going to his third-straight Pro Bowl, but his season also makes him a candidate to make the All-Pro first team for the third-straight season.
Don’t tell Hopkins that, however, because he couldn’t care less about those individual accolades.