Pro Hogs NFL Report - 5 former Hogs, Bielema heading to Super Bowl
Here is an update on all five former Razorbacks who are on teams that reached the AFC and NFC Championship games, including those not on 53-man rosters…
Brandon Allen - Los Angeles Rams
The Rams got away with a terrible no-call and beat the New Orleans Saints 26-23 in overtime to advance to Super Bowl LIII in Atlanta. On Los Angeles’ practice squad since Week 3, Allen won’t receive a Super Bowl bonus, but he will continue to get paid his weekly salary for an extra couple of weeks - which is a minimum of $15,200.
Postseason Stats: N/A
Trey Flowers - New England Patriots
Flowers made one of the biggest plays in the Patriots’ 37-31 overtime win over Kansas City, coming up with a 14-yard sack of Patrick Mahomes that knocked the Chiefs out of field goal range. It ended up being a 10-point swing because New England promptly drove 90 yards and scored a touchdown to take a 14-0 lead into halftime.
Later in the game, Flowers - who played every snap (52) on defense for the first time this season - had another quarterback hit that forced an incompletion and punt, and also notched another solo tackle.
With the win, he advances to his third straight Super Bowl, joining Steve Atwater with the Denver Broncos as the only former Arkansas players to appear that game three times. In eight career postseason games, Flowers now has 36 tackles - including 19 solo, seven for loss and 5.5 sacks - and 20 quarterback hits.
Postseason Stats: 2 games (2 starts), 104 defensive snaps; 3 tackles (3 solo), 2 TFL, 2 sacks, 4 QB hits
Cody Hollister, Dan Skipper - New England Patriots
Neither of these players were directly involved in the Patriots’ 37-31 win over the Kansas City Chiefs and neither will play in Super Bowl LIII, but they are still members of the team. Hollister has been on New England’s Non-Football Injury (NFI) list since undergoing season-ending back surgery over the summer, while Skipper was picked up and added to the practice squad after the regular season. He had been with the Lions and Broncos’ practice squads during the year.
Postseason Stats: N/A
Deatrich Wise Jr. - New England Patriots
Although he is on the 53-man roster, Wise was inactive for the Patriots’ 37-31 overtime win over the Kansas City Chiefs. It’s the second straight postseason game he’s missed, but the first time he’s been a healthy scratch. A sprained ankle kept him out of last week’s game. It is unknown if he’ll play in the Super Bowl, but he was a surprising scratch considering he was second on the team with 4.5 sacks and 14 quarterback hits in the regular season.
Postseason Stats: N/A
Nick Caley - New England Patriots
Caley was a graduate assistant at Arkansas in 2013 and made the jump to the NFL two years later. He was an offensive assistant for the Patriots from 2015-16 before being promoted to tight ends coach last season.
Bret Bielema - New England Patriots
It is also worth mentioning that former head coach Bret Bielema is also advancing to Super Bowl LIII. He has been consultant to Patriots head coach Bill Belichick since the summer. A couple of his former players who are still Razorbacks even made the trip up to Kansas City to see him.