Ko Olina, Hawaii – Jake Plummer will go into his 10th NFL season next fall still waiting to play in his first Pro Bowl.
Continuing a fast and furious trend of AFC quarterbacks dropping out of Sunday’s game, Plummer was scratched from the roster Tuesday with a lower abdominal problem, Denver and AFC Pro Bowl coach Mike Shanahan said after the team’s first practice. Plummer apparently suffered the injury during the Broncos’ loss to Pittsburgh in the AFC championship game.
Shanahan said Plummer was scratched because he would be limited in the Pro Bowl game.
“If you come here, you’ve got to play,” Shanahan said, “and he wasn’t going to be able to.”
Shanahan said the injury is minor and won’t affect Plummer’s offseason program. Tennessee’s Steve McNair will replace Plummer. McNair is the AFC’s eighth quarterback to be asked to play in the game.
The original three were Indianapolis’ Peyton Manning, New England’s Tom Brady and Cincinnati’s Carson Palmer.
Plummer, the AFC’s second alternate, replaced Palmer after he was injured in a wild-card game. San Diego’s Drew Brees was the No. 1 alternate, but he was injured against the Broncos in the season finale. No. 3 alternate Trent Green of Kansas City replaced an injured Brady. Pittsburgh’s Ben Roethlisberger turned down the chance to replace Plummer on Tuesday, opening the door for McNair.
Williams cited
According to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Broncos cornerback Darrent Williams was cited after playing his car stereo too loudly in Fort Worth, Texas, on Sunday night. A 19-year-old passenger was cited for possession of marijuana after it was found in Williams’ car. The passenger told police the marijuana was his after police were going to arrest Williams for it.
The paper reported that police officers briefly aimed a Taser at Williams after he allegedly resisted being handcuffed. Williams’ citation for the noise violation is a Class C misdemeanor in Texas punishable by a $210 fine.
Footnotes
New Broncos assistant head coach Mike Heimerdinger is in Hawaii in his first official role with the team in 2006. … Broncos owner Pat Bowlen hosted a private reception for the team’s representatives at the Pro Bowl on Tuesday night. … Former Broncos defensive end Maa Tanuvasa was inducted into the Hawaii Sports Hall of Fame.
