But at just 27 in his playing prime, Rodgers-Cromartie hinted that there’s a chance he doesn’t play another NFL down after Super Bowl XLVIII. A victory just might be enough to push him into retirement from football and toward other pursuits.

“It has been a long journey and I am weighing my options,” Rodgers-Cromartie said. “I am still a young guy and not a Champ Bailey or a Peyton Manning who have a legacy of going out on top.

“I had a goal of five years and I reached that. I will see how I feel after the game.”

Rodgers-Cromartie is a solid, big cover corner with a Pro Bowl trip also on his resume, and after a couple disappointing seasons in Philadelphia, he has rounded back into form in Denver.

With Bailey’s future also in doubt and Chris Harris needing to come back from recent season-ending knee surgery, the Broncos’ secondary could face quite a reshuffling in 2014 if Rodgers-Cromartie puts an abrupt end to his still promising career.


THOMAS KINDA CALLS BAILEY OLD


Earl Thomas has great respect for Champ Bailey going into Seattle’s matchup with Denver in Super Bowl XLVIII. But the talented, 24-year-old Seahawks' safety also reminded us that the Broncos' cornerback, at age 35, has quite a few years on him.

“I had him on my MySpace page when I was in high school, in maybe 10th grade,” Thomas said of the future Hall of Famer Bailey. “This guy has been doing it for a long time, and it’s been a humbling experience to see a guy who’s been in this league 15 years and this is his only opportunity to play in a Super Bowl.”

It’s true: Bailey was just hitting his prime when the failed social media site was still a semi-popular thing about a decade ago.

Consider Bailey was drafted seventh overall in 1999, a year after teammate Peyton Manning went No. 1. Also consider that the player taken right after Bailey, former St. Louis Rams wide receiver Torry Holt, won a Super Bowl right away as a rookie.

Bailey is a 12-time Pro Bowler and seven-time All-Pro with a bust waiting for him in Canton. Fifteen years is a football eternity to get to your first Super Bowl. That’s worth about 26,000-plus Facebook likes.


BRUTON MOONLIGHTED AS SCHOOL TEACHER


On the field, David Bruton is a Denver Broncos' safety and special teams captain.

Off it, he was just Mr. Bruton, a substitute teacher.

When the NFL was embroiled in a lockout n 2011, Bruton, 26, went back to school as a teacher. He was recruited to teach by his former high school coach in Miamisburg, Ohio, and

it’s something he plans to do again whenever his playing days are finished.

“A good friend said, ‘We know you love kids, so why don’t you pursue this?,’” Bruton said. “I definitely did it and fell in love with it.”

Now that Bruton is in Super Bowl XLVIII where his team will play the Seattle Seahawks, he’s become even more popular with his old pupils.

“They reached out to me on Twitter and Instagram,” Bruton said. "'It’s crazy that I had him as a substitute teacher and now he’s in the Super Bowl.'"


MAJORITY SAY THEY WOULD PLAY SUPER BOWL WITH CONCUSSION


It’s the biggest game of the football lives and some might say the biggest moment of their entire lives. The thrill of playing in the Super Bowl perhaps has no sports equal.

So, when a player says he’d play even with a concussion, believe him. In an anonymous NFL Nation survey conducted for ESPN, 85 percent of 320 players polled said they would play in the Super Bowl with a concussion.

“They don’t want to let themselves down. They don’t want to let their teammates down. They want to go out there and play, not thinking, ‘OK, what can this affect later on down the line?”

It’s a question they may ask themselves, but clearly most aren’t dissuaded by even the most obvious answers.

Chris Nowinski, co-director of the Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy at Boston University, talked to Sporting News in December about the very issue.

“Football is a sport that rewards people who are physically and mentally tough,” he said. “There are other sports like that, but definitely, in order to succeed in that sport, you need to be able to play through tremendous pain.”

And silent pain caused by concussions. Players, with enough on the line, will try to mask their symptoms when speaking to trainers.

Now, getting back on the field is harder. It’s not just a thumbs up or thumbs down from players. They have to pass daily concussion tests to meet standard protocols.


KUBIAK NAMED RAVENS’ OC


Former Houston Texans head coach Gary Kubiak has been hired to be the Baltimore Ravens' new offensive coordinator.

The 52-year-old Kubiak replaces Jim Caldwell, who left to become coach of the Detroit Lions. The Ravens also announced they have hired Rick Dennison, the Texans former offensive coordinator, as their quarterbacks coach.

"Gary Kubiak was on the list from the beginning," Baltimore coach John Harbaugh said Monday during the introduction of his two new assistants. "It became apparent this had a chance to be a fit for both coaches and the Ravens."

Kubiak was offensive coordinator of the Denver Broncos for three years before being named Houston's head coach in 2006. He was fired on Dec. 6 of this season after the Texans started 2-11.

"I have great respect for this organization," Kubiak said, "but it comes down to John."


COMMISSIONER GIVES PRO BOWL A THUMBS UP


NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell is showing the Pro Bowl more love after previously threatening to cancel it if play didn't improve.

Goodell said in an ESPN Radio interview Monday participants played harder and made the game very competitive.

"It was real football," Goodell said. "It was something that I give a lot of credit to the players."

Goodell said Domonique Foxworth, president of the player's union, worked with players to come up with the idea of changing the game from its usual AFC versus NFC format. The new unconferenced format based partly on pickup games and fantasy sports gave players something to get excited about, he said.

"I believe it was a very, very positive step and I salute the players and I'm glad they had so much fun," Goodell said. "And I think fans had a fun time watching — I know I did."


BROWNS ADD ASSISTANTS


Browns coach Mike Pettine hired Jim O'Neil as his defensive coordinator on Monday, reuniting him with the coach who helped him turn around Buffalo's defense last season.

Pettine also retained special teams coordinator Chris Tabor from Rob Chudzinski's staff.

In addition, Pettine plucked assistants Chuck Driesbach (linebackers), Brian Fleury (assistant linebackers coach) and Jeff Hafley (secondary) off the staff he worked on in Buffalo as defensive coordinator.

Pettine made Brian Angelichio, who spent the past two seasons in Tampa Bay, his tight ends coach and kept Bobby Babich (assistant secondary coach) and Shawn Mennenga (assistant special teams coach) from Cleveland's previous staff.

O'Neil was Buffalo's linebackers coach last season, his fifth straight with Pettine. They were together in New York, spending four seasons on Rex Ryan's staff with the Jets.

Contributors: Rana L. Cash, Vinnie Iyer, The Associated Press

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