Wednesday around the NFL

Browns: The longest-tenured player in Cleveland will finally be playing in Hawaii. Browns kicker Phil Dawson was selected to his first Pro Bowl, where he will represent the AFC as a starter in his 14th season. “Hey Cleveland! We did it! I will always remember & appreciate your awesome support this season. Proud to wear the orange helmet in Hawaii,” Dawson posted on his Twitter account. Browns left tackle Joe Thomas made his sixth straight Pro Bowl while center Alex Mack, returner Josh Cribbs and linebacker D’Qwell Jackson were named alternates. Pro Bowlers were chosen based on a combined vote of fans, players and coaches. The Pro Bowl will be played in Honolulu on Jan. 27.

Steelers: Tight end Heath Miller and center Maurkice Pouncey were named to the Pro Bowl for Pittsburgh. If no other Steelers are chosen, it would be the team’s fewest representatives since 2001 when it had just one. Seven Steelers were chosen last year.

Cowboys: A grand jury in Texas has formally indicted Dallas Cowboys nose tackle Josh Brent on one count of intoxication manslaughter. Brent is charged in connection with a Dec. 8 crash that killed his friend and Cowboys practice squad member Jerry Brown. He is out of jail on $100,000 bond. Dallas County District Attorney’s Office spokeswoman Debbie Denmon says the indictment was returned Wednesday. Police in the Dallas suburb of Irving say Brent was speeding when his vehicle struck a curb and flipped. Brown was pronounced dead at an area hospital. Intoxication manslaughter carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. Brent could be eligible for probation. Denmon says no court dates have been scheduled.

Ravens: Linebacker Ray Lewis has been added to Baltimore’s 53-man roster, but coach John Harbaugh says the 17-year veteran will not play Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals. The 37-year-old was placed on the injured reserve-designated to return list after tearing his right triceps on Oct. 14. He returned to practice on Dec. 5, and in order for him to be eligible for the playoffs, the Ravens had to add him to the active roster by Wednesday. Baltimore cleared room for Lewis by placing wide receiver LaQuan Williams on injured reserve with a leg injury. Lewis has missed nine straight games. He was eligible to return to game action two weeks ago, but he has some atrophy in his right arm after having surgery on Oct. 17.

Raiders: Oakland coach Dennis Allen isn’t ready to select a starting quarterback for Sunday’s game in San Diego and said it’s possible that both Matt Leinart and Terrelle Pryor could play. Leinart and Pryor shared reps in practice with Oakland’s first-team offense during practice, three days after starter Carson Palmer went out with cracked ribs and a bruised lung after being hit from behind by Carolina Panthers defensive end Greg Hardy. Allen said Wednesday that Leinart and Pryor split the workload during practice, but Pryor later said Leinart took the majority of reps. “Both of them looked pretty good,” Allen said. “They had a good day out there and both of them got reps with the [starting offense]. We’ll continue to monitor it and we’ll make a decision at the end of the week which way we’re going to go.” Both played in last week’s loss to Carolina after Palmer was hurt, though Pryor was in for only a handful of plays. Leinart completed 16 of 32 for 115 yards. He also threw a momentum-shifting interception just before halftime.

Jets: Tim Tebow thinks he might have been misunderstood. New York’s backup quarterback insisted Wednesday that he never asked out of running wildcat plays last week, but acknowledged what he said to coach Rex Ryan may have been misinterpreted as such. “I never said, ‘Hey, I don’t do anything or I won’t do anything,”’ Tebow said. “That wasn’t the talk at all. He knows that and everybody on this team knows that. I’d never not do something if I was asked, and I think that’s what’s disappointing about the whole situation, people saying, ‘You quit,’ or, ‘You didn’t do this.’ It was not it at all. It was just me asking to get an opportunity to play the position I love, which is quarterback. It wasn’t me asking out of anything.” Ryan chose to go with third-stringer Greg McElroy over Tebow in place of the benched Mark Sanchez for Sunday’s game against the San Diego Chargers. After hearing the news, Tebow went to Ryan to discuss the situation. “I was definitely disappointed and frustrated,” Tebow said. Tebow thinks it was a situation in which he wishes he was “more clear” when he first spoke with Ryan.

Associated Press