Posted: 10:50 a.m.
Bengals wide receiver Chad Ochocinco was named Friday to the American Football Conference team for the Pro Bowl, scheduled on Jan. 31 in South Florida at Land Shark Stadium.
It is the sixth Pro Bowl selection for Ochocinco in his nine past NFL seasons, tying him with CB Lemar Parrish for the second-most nods in Bengals history. Tackle Anthony Muñoz is first with 11.
"This is extremely great news," Ochocinco said. "I appreciate the recognition of the body of work I put in this season. But please let me share with my teammates. Cedric Benson -- none of it would have happened without him. And Carson (Palmer) and my offensive line and everybody. I love you all."
Ochocinco replaces injured Wes Welker of New England, who was selected to the team in original voting in December. Ochocinco was a second alternate in the original voting. The first alternate, Randy Moss of New England, also will not participate due to an injury.
A ninth-year NFL player in 2009, Ochocinco led the Bengals by wide margins in receptions (72), receiving yards (1047) and touchdowns (nine). He raised his career receiving TD total to 62, one short of the franchise record. He entered 2009 already leading the franchise by wide margins in career catches and receiving yards, and in '09 he extended those totals to 684 catches and 9952 yards.
Ochocinco has notable exploits on his Pro Bowl resumé.
In the 2004 game, after the '03 season, he had 156 receiving yards, which stands as the second-most in game history. He had a 90-yard TD in that game, connecting with QB Steve McNair, and that stands today as the second-longest completion in a Pro Bowl. In the Pro Bowl following the 2006 season, Ochocinco had a 42-yard TD reception from Cincinnati's Carson Palmer, and later in that game, Ochocinco drew a 39-yard interference penalty against the NFC to set up the AFC's winning field goal.
Ochocinco's previous five Pro Bowl appearances were following the 2003 through '07 seasons.
At the moment, he's the only Bengal going to the Pro Bowl, although they have other second team alternates in Benson, cornerback Johnathan Joseph, and defensive tackle Domata Peko. Last month the Bengals became the first division winner since the 1970 merger not to have a player voted to the team.
ROSTER MOVE: The Bengals on Friday signed cornerback Mike Mickens of the University of Cincinnati to the offseason roster. Mickens was on the Cincinnati practice squad for the last five weeks of the 2009 season. He is a Dayton-area native who played at Wayne High School. He was a seventh-round selection by Dallas in the 2009 draft. He did not see regular season action in '09 and is classified as a first-year NFL player for 2010.
