New England Patriots defensive lineman Vince Wilfork was fined $10,000 by the NFL for his third-quarter hit on Dolphins quarterback Chad Henne in the season finale last Sunday.

Wilfork sacked Henne on the play, but was ruled to have made helmet-to-helmet contact, for which the Patriots were penalized 15 yards.

Meanwhile, Dolphins defensive lineman Paul Soliai was also fined $10,000 for roughing the passer. His third-quarter hit on Patriots backup quarterback Brian Hoyer — on the play in which Hoyer connected with receiver Brandon Tate for a 42-yard touchdown — drew the fine.

Mike Reiss covers the Patriots for ESPN Boston. You can follow him on Twitter.

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — New England Patriots wide receiver Wes Welker and tackle Matt Light have been selected to the Pro Bowl.

They will replace Houston wide receiver Andre Johnson, who was to undergo arthroscopic surgery on his right ankle, and Miami tackle Jake Long, who was bothered by shoulder and knee problems for much of the season.

Welker had 86 catches for 848 yards in 16 games after returning from a serious knee injury suffered in the regular-season finale a year ago. Light, a 10-year veteran, was chosen to the AFC team for the third time.

An NFL-high eight Patriots have been chosen for the game, including quarterback Tom Brady, guard Logan Mankins, nose tackle Vince Wilfork, linebacker Jerod Mayo, rookie cornerback Devin McCourty and safety Brandon Meriweather.

New England Patriots receiver Wes Welker and tackle Matt Light have been selected to the Pro Bowl.

They will replace Houston Texans receiver Andre Johnson, who was to undergo arthroscopic surgery on his right ankle, and Miami Dolphins tackle Jake Long, who was bothered by shoulder and knee problems for much of the season.

Welker had 86 catches for 848 yards in 16 games after returning from a serious knee injury suffered in the regular-season finale a year ago. Light, a 10-year veteran, was chosen to the AFC team for the third time.

An NFL-high eight Patriots have been chosen for the game, including quarterback Tom Brady, guard Logan Mankins, nose tackle Vince Wilfork, linebacker Jerod Mayo, rookie cornerback Devin McCourty and safety Brandon Meriweather.

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) – New England Patriots wide receiver Wes Welker and tackle Matt Light have been selected to the Pro Bowl.

They will replace Houston wide receiver Andre Johnson, who was to undergo arthroscopic surgery on his right ankle, and Miami tackle Jake Long, who was bothered by shoulder and knee problems for much of the season.

Welker had 86 catches for 848 yards in 16 games after returning from a serious knee injury suffered in the regular-season finale a year ago. Light, a 10-year veteran, was chosen to the AFC team for the third time.

An NFL-high eight Patriots have been chosen for the game, including quarterback Tom Brady, guard Logan Mankins, nose tackle Vince Wilfork, linebacker Jerod Mayo, rookie cornerback Devin McCourty and safety Brandon Meriweather.

Barring an unexpected change, second-year New England Patriots defensive lineman Ron Brace will be placed on season-ending injured reserve Monday to create a roster spot as linebacker Brandon Spikes returns from a four-game suspension, a league source told ESPNBoston.com’s Mike Reiss.

Brace was listed with an elbow injury on the team’s injury report this week. The Boston Herald first reported the move.

The expected loss of Brace affects the Patriots’ 3-4 alignment, as he has been a top option at left end. Brace, who has played in 13 games and collected 23 tackles this season, usually comes off the field in substitution packages.

The loss of Brace turns the spotlight to the health of Mike Wright, who has been out since Nov. 21 with a concussion. Wright would likely be a top starting option in the 3-4 alongside Vince Wilfork and Gerard Warren.

Information from ESPNBoston’s Mike Reiss was used in this report.

Perfect sense: Nobody can argue with New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady starting for the AFC. He’s setting efficiency records and is the frontrunner for league MVP. Miami Dolphins outside linebacker Cameron Wake was named a starter. He broke out in his second NFL season and leads the league with 14 sacks. Dolphins left tackle Jake Long will start at left tackle, making it three Pro Bowls in three seasons for him.

New York Jets center Nick Mangold, an All-Pro last year, will start. It is also good to see Jets left tackle D’Brickashaw Ferguson chosen. I feared Ferguson would get overshadowed at such a loaded position. The AFC East placed four offensive linemen — three starters — on the squad.

Made it on rep: The biggest surprise for me was Patriots safety Brandon Meriweather. He regressed from last year’s Pro Bowl season. He actually lost his job as the starter for a couple weeks in September and might not have started in Week 14 because coaches were unhappy with him. Patriots left guard Logan Mankins didn’t play until last month because of a contract squabble, but he was named a starter anyway because he has been phenomenal from the moment he took the field. He deserves to be in the Pro Bowl, but I didn’t expect him to be voted a starter. Jets cornerback Darrelle Revis is another player who slipped significantly since last year’s All-Pro season, but he was named a starter anyway.

Got robbed: While “robbed” might be too harsh of a word, the Buffalo Bills’ defensive tackle Kyle Williams did have a campaign that was worthy of the Pro Bowl in a vacuum. But there was no way he was going to make the AFC roster ahead of Patriots star Vince Wilfork or Baltimore Ravens behemoth Haloti Ngata. Oakland Raiders defensive tackle Richard Seymour got the third spot. Williams has been dominant when it comes to getting into the backfield, but stopping the run is the primary responsibility for a nose tackle, and the Bills have the NFL’s worst run defense. Williams still has the chance to go as an alternate. Jets guard Brandon Moore is another player who deserved recognition but couldn’t crack a talented group.

Jets kickoff returner Brad Smith has a 28.6-yard average and two touchdowns, but he couldn’t beat out Tennessee Titans return ace Marc Mariani, who has scored kickoff and punt return touchdowns. He’s the only player to do that so far this season.

Click here for the complete Pro Bowl list.