State of Arizona has ties to Super Bowl XLVIII in New Jersey
Super Bowl XLVIII will be played about as far from Arizona as it could possibly be, but that doesn’t mean the state won’t have a number of ties to the game, which will be played Feb. 2 at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.
Former Arizona State players Brock Osweiler and Omar Bolden are headed to the Super Bowl after the Denver Broncos’ 26-16 win over the New England Patriots Sunday. Osweiler, a second-year backup quarterback, and Bolden, a third-year safety, are the 42nd and 43rd ASU players to be on a Super Bowl roster. Former ASU receiver Gerell Robinson is on the Broncos’ practice squad.
Former ASU tight end Zach Miller became the 44th, when his Seattle Seahawks beat the San Francisco 49ers 23-17 to win the NFC title.
But that’s not where the Arizona ties to Super Bowl XLVIII end. Former Arizona Cardinals Paris Lenon and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie also play for Denver, former Cards linebacker O’Brien Schofield plays for Seattle.
Rodgers-Cromartie was with the Cardinals when they won the NFC Championship and lost the Super Bowl in 2009, his lone Super Bowl appearance. Lenon spent the past three seasons with the Cardinals, and was part of the 0-16 Detroit Lions in 2008 and 1-15 St. Louis Rams in 2009. Schofield spent the first three years of his NFL career with the Cardinals, raching up 10.5 sacks in 35 games.
