The nominees for this year’s Art Rooney Sportsmanship Award were announced this week, with Byron Jones getting the nod from the Dallas Cowboys. Each team nominates one player from their roster that demonstrates a high degree of integrity on game days, something that can be lacking in such a violent sport.
The honor, established in 2014, was named for the late great Pittsburgh Steelers owner Art Rooney. Previous nominees by Dallas have been Jason Witten, Sean Lee, Brandon Carr, Travis Frederick and Dak Prescott. Not a single Cowboy has won the award, nor has one even moved on to the final eight nominees.
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Former winners include Arizona Cardinals WR Larry Fitzgerald, retired DB Charles Woodson (as an Oakland Raider), the ageless Frank Gore during his time in Indianapolis, LB Luke Kuechly and QB Drew Brees.
When it comes to on-field performance this season, Jones has excelled in coverage despite not recording a single interception in the first nine games. A hip injury during the offseason limited snaps in the the Cowboys’ Week 1 win, and a hamstring injury cost him time against the shocking loss to the Jets. Still, he’s been the team’s best CB so far, and will be a free agent at the end of the season.
The full list of this year’s nominees for the Art Rooney Sportsmanship Award can be found here.