Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver AJ Green was one of three rookies named to this year’s Pro Bowl team, joining Denver linebacker Von Miller and Arizona cornerback Patrick Peterson, who made the team as a kick returner.

Green, who has already set a franchise record for receiving yards by a rookie, enters the regular-season finale versus the Ravens with 63 catches and 1,031 yards. His 11 catches of 35 yards or more are the most in the league and the most by an NFL rookie since Minnesota’s Randy Moss had 14 in 1998.

Rookie quarterback Andy Dalton was nudged out by Tom Brady, Ben Roethlisberger and Phillip Rivers, but was selected as a first alternate, meaning he would be given first consideration should any of those three be unable to play or opt out of making trip.

Dalton has thrown 20 touchdown passes, a club record for a rookie. The only other NFL rookies to throw 20 were Peyton Manning (26), Charley Conerly (22), Dan Marino (20) and Cam Newton (20). Dalton and Carolina’s Newton have become the fourth and fifth rookies to throw for 3,000 yards in a season.

Other first alternates were Geno Atkins, who has tied the franchise record for sacks by defensive tackles, and kicker Mike Nugent, who led the NFL in field-goal percentage at the time of the vote last week. Andrew Whitworth is the second alternate at tackle. Tight end Jermaine Gresham, 23 years old and in his second season, is a third alternate, and running back Cedric Benson and nose tackle Domata Peko are fifth alternates.

COMPLETE PRO BOWL ROSTER (NFL.com)

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All NFL teams trimmed their rosters down to 53 on Sunday, making the transaction wire hot and heavy. The Bengals not only made some cuts, but pulled of a trade as well. Here are some quick notes.

--Cincinnati is rolling with six receivers as Jerome Simpson and Quan Cosby both survived the cut.  Free agent signee Matt Jones was a casualty. Simpson had a solid preseason, but still has a long way to go to deliver on being drafted in the second round three years ago. Cosby will be a factor in the return game.

--The Bengals traded for Jaguars safety Reggie Nelson in exchange for cornerback David Jones and a conditional draft pick. The move allows the team to have more balance in the secondary and led to the release of Marvin White, who was re-signed after veteran free agent Gibril Wilson was placed on injured reserve.

--Second-year tight end Chase Coffman, who was a 2009 third-round pick, was cut in favor of Ben Coats. Coffman struggled with picking up blocking schemes and health and never played a snap during his short tenure.

--The team opted for kicker Mike Nugent, waiving veteran Dave Raymer. Neither player blew the team away, but Nugent clearly has the stronger leg.

--Former Bengals, wide receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh and place kicker Shayne Graham, were also part of the casualties from around the league on Saturday.  Seattle parted ways with Houshmandzadeh just one year into his five-year deal and Graham was beat out by Billy Cundiff in Baltimore.

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--The Bengals are set to kickoff the NFL preseason schedule on Sunday versus the Cowboys in the annual Hall of Game in Canton, Ohio. The game will be aired nationally on NBC-TV at 8:00 p.m. and there are some good reasons to watch.

--The team came to terms earlier this week with first-round pick, tight end Jermaine Gresham on five-year deal. The 6-foot-5, 261-pounder will get $15.85 million over five years, with $9.6 million guaranteed. He immediately began to work as the team’s No. 1 tight end.

--Beat writer Geoff Hobson notes that newly acquired wide receiver Terrell Owens is still struggling to develop chemistry with quarterback Carson Palmer.

--Last year’s first-round pick, offensive tackle Andre Smith, continues to disappoint. He showed up at camp at 370 pounds and head coach Marvin Lewis didn’t hold back when he talked to SI.com’s Peter King saying he "doesn't think Alabama shot him straight with its pre-draft info (the kid's work ethic leaves a lot to be desired) and Smith was not diligent enough in the offseason rehabbing a foot injury."

--Though there is a long way to go in the kicker position battle, the team currently lists Mike Nugent over Dave Raymer on their depth chart as they look to replace Shayne Graham, who departed via free agency and has since signed with the Baltimore Ravens.

--Most of the so-called experts are picking the Ravens to win the AFC North, but not CBSSports.com’s Pete Prisco. He wrote “duplicating their run through the AFC North won't be easy, but this Bengals team is clearly better than the one that ended the 2009 season.”

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The Bengals signed free agent kicker Mike Nugent, a former Ohio State player from Centerville, Ohio, on Friday.

Nugent (5-10, 190) is a sixth-year NFL player in 2010. He was a second-round draft selection by the N.Y. Jets in 2005 (47th overall) and spent four seasons (2005-08) with New York.

He averaged 102 points per season in his first three years with the Jets. He set a Jets record for field goal accuracy in 2007 (24-for-27, .889), and over 2006-07, he made 19 consecutive FG attempts, which ranked second in Jets history. He suffered an injury in the first game of the 2008 season and spent the rest of the season on the Jets roster as a gameday inactive.

In March of 2009, he signed as an unrestricted free agent with Tampa Bay.

He played in Games 1-4 for the Bucs last season and was released on Oct. 6. He was signed by Arizona in December, played in Games 14-15, and was released by the Cardinals on 1-1-10. Over his six NFL games last season, he went 14-for-14 on PATs and four-for-eight on field goals.

His NFL career totals are 79-for-100 on field goals (79.0 percent) and 97-for-99 on PATs (98.0).

Nugent left Ohio State with 22 school records. He won the Lou Groza Award (nation?s top kicker) as a senior in 2004 and was a consensus All-American. In 2002, he scored an OSU-record 120 points and became the first Buckeye kicker to earn first-team All-America honors. He came to Ohio State from Centerville High School, where he scored 262 points in four seasons

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