Kansas City Chiefs outside linebacker Justin Houston was a guest this morning on ESPN’s “First Take” from Scottsdale, Arizona. Houston again denied he skipped playing in Sunday night’s Pro Bowl because he was concerned about getting injured.

Houston’s contract will soon expire. Whether the Chiefs make him their franchise player or he signs for the longer term, he’s about to get a big contract. On whether the Chiefs can win a Super Bowl with Alex Smith as their quarterback: “I’m very convinced. The past two years we’ve had winning seasons. But we need some more pieces. This year I feel our offensive line struggled a little bit. We had some injuries on our offensive line that caused him to get sacked more than usual. But I think we can do it with Alex.”

via Adam Teicher of ESPN.com