IRVING, Texas -- Dallas Cowboys strong safety Roy Williams was added to the NFC Pro Bowl roster Thursday in place of the late Sean Taylor, the Washington safety voted in as a starter.
Williams
The NFL also said that Cowboys free safety Ken Hamlin, a first-time Pro Bowler, will replace Taylor as the starter in Hawaii.
"I appreciate being the first alternate to go," said Williams, who is going to the Pro Bowl for the fifth straight year. "We are going to do something special for Sean and his family."
Williams wouldn't elaborate on the plans to honor Taylor, who died Nov. 27 after being shot during a burglary at his home in Florida.
Williams' addition to the NFC squad gives the Cowboys an NFL record 12 players going to the Pro Bowl. Williams received the fourth-most votes for safeties behind Taylor, Minnesota's Darren Sharper and Hamlin. Sharper was voted in as the starting strong safety.
"Making it was definitely an honor. Roy is definitely deserving, he's done a great job as well. He's been there a lot more than me, so I'll definitely follow him," Hamlin said. "Making it means a lot to me. It's definitely an honor. And to be a starter in that type of game is definitely a big honor."
When the Pro Bowl teams were named last month, the Cowboys tied a franchise record with 11 selections. That included seven starters: receiver Terrell Owens, tight end Jason Witten, offensive linemen Flozell Adams, Andre Gurode and Leonard Davis, linebacker DeMarcus Ware and rookie kicker Nick Folk.
The other Pro Bowlers from Dallas (13-3), the NFC's top-seeded playoff team, are quarterback Tony Romo, running back Marion Barber and cornerback Terence Newman.
