Tag: Ed Block Courage Award

Allen Robinson wins Bears’ 2019 Ed Block Courage Award

When it comes to great players both on and off the field, there’s been no one better last season than Bears WR Allen Robinson.

When it comes to great players both on and off the field, there’s been no one better last season than Chicago Bears receiver Allen Robinson.

So it wasn’t a surprise the Bears named Robinson the team’s 2019 Ed Block Courage Award winner on Wednesday. This is the second time Robinson has won the award, the first time coming with the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2015.

Robinson has been actively involved in Chicago community since coming to the Bears in 2018. His Within Reach Foundation aims to provide educational opportunities and resources to low-income and inner-city Chicago students to help put success within reach.

Each year, the Ed Block Courage Awards honors those National Football League players who exemplify commitments to the principles of sportsmanship and courage. This award is unique in that the recipients are selected solely by a vote of their teammates. Every fall all thirty two teams conduct a vote which results in each team selecting their Ed Block Courage Award recipient for the year.

The Ed Block Courage Award recipient symbolizes professionalism, great strength and dedication. He is also a community role model. With this honor, he enters into an association which contrasts his fierce profession by becoming a major component of the Courage House National Support Network for Kids. He becomes an Ambassador of Courage for victims of abuse, violence and neglect.

Robinson was also the Bears’ nominee for the 2019 Walter Payton Man of the Year Award.

In just two seasons with the Bears, Robinson has been the No. 1 receiver they’ve been waiting for. He’s coming off a 1,000-yard season, which is impressive considering Chicago’s struggles on offense last season.

While Robinson has just one year left on his current deal, you have to believe the Bears are making it a priority to bring Robinson back. And Robinson has already made it clear that he wants to be with the Bears for the long-term.

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Bears WR Allen Robinson to receive Ed Block Courage Award

Allen Robinson was one of the best players on and off the field for the Bears in 2019, and he’s being honored as Ed Block Courage recipient.

Allen Robinson was arguably one of the best players on the field for the Bears in 2019, and now he’ll be honored as one of the best people off the field.

Robinson has been named the Bears’ recipient of the 2020 Ed Block Courage Award, which is given to the player that exemplifies a commitment to sportsmanship and courage, as well as serves as an inspiration in the locker room.

Robinson was also the Bears’ nominee for the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award, which recognizes players for outstanding community service activities off the field as well as excellence on the field.

During an abysmal season for Chicago’s offense, Robinson shined under less-than-fortunate circumstances. In 2019, he had a career-high 98 catches for 1,147 yards and seven touchdowns. He became the Bears’ first 1,000-yard receiver since 2014.

Robinson will be honored at a luncheon on Tuesday, April 7 at Manzo’s Banquets in Des Plaines.

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Texans S Justin Reid learned to play through pain at a young age

The Houston Texans named Justin Reid their Ed Block Courage Award winning for playing through the pain. That’s nothing new to him.

Missing one game is an impressive feat for Houston Texans safety Justin Reid.

The 22-year-old has suffered through his fair share of wear-and-tear throughout 2019, sustaining a concussion, wrist and shoulder injuries.

Often on Sundays, Reid is pulled off the field, grasping his shoulder, only to get back on the field minutes later. In the eyes of many, he turns a season-ending injury, or at least a game-ending one, into a simple stinger.

On Tuesday, Texans players recognized Reid’s toughness, giving him the Ed Block Courage Award, given to the player who overcomes adversity, either on or off the field.

As far as his family is concerned, Reid’s toughness is expected. He grew into the role of a defender willing to play through the pain.

“My mom, you want to talk about toughness — my mom was probably the biggest contributing factor to toughness for me and my brothers because she’s a nurse, so she knows what a real injury is and everything like that,” Reid said on Tuesday.

“So, every time we would go down on the field and she could tell it wasn’t really anything serious, I’d hear her voice cut through the crowd. She’d be the first one telling us to get back up, ‘Get up! Get up!’ So I learned from an early age, if it’s not something that’s actually serious and it’s something I can play through, you’re going to play through it.”

Reid roams the field with a “thumper” mindset, a trait his brother, Carolina Panthers safety Eric Reid, shares. Despite injuries, the Prairieville, La., native has missed just one career game. In 29 games, the Stanford product has four interceptions, 14 pass deflections and 160 combined tackles.

Reid knows when he can play and can’t. Unless it is a concussion that the league has strict rules about players returning to action, no other material force can keep him off the gridiron.

“I always think I’m going to go back in,” Reid said. “That’s just my competitive spirit, that I’m going to be out there on the field with my brothers and I’m going to play and help my team win a football game in any way that I can. If I ever did get to that point, then at that point I’ll pull the plug, but it’s not there yet, and I know I can play.”

It’s going to take a lot more than a few shoulder and wrist injuries to take out 2019’s Ed Block Courage Award winner.

Texans S Justin Reid wins 2019 Ed Block Courage Award

Houston Texans safety Justin Reid won the team’s 2019 Ed Block Courage Award as voted by his teammates.

The Houston Texans have selected second-year safety Justin Reid as the 2019 Ed Block Courage Award winner.

Reid’s teammates voted to recognize his efforts both on and off the field and for his ability to overcome great adversity.

“I feel blessed and honored to be voted the winner of the Ed Block Courage Award, especially since it’s voted on purely by my teammates,” Reid said. “It means a lot to be able to represent them and the Houston Texans organization with this honor.”

Reid has played with wrist and shoulder injuries since coming into the NFL as a third-round pick from Stanford in 2018. The Prairieville, La., native has started in 25 of his 29 career games with 153 total tackles, four interceptions, a pick-six, 14 pass breakups, two quarterback hits, and three tackles for loss.

Coach Bill O’Brien says that Reid’s “team-first attitude” is what made him a great selection for the award.

“For a young player, he has a great understanding of what it means to be a professional in order to have success at this level,” O’Brien said. “Everyone sees the plays he makes on Sundays, but it’s his dedication to doing whatever it takes throughout the week to get his body ready to go in the training room that has earned the respect of his teammates.”

Established in 1984, the Ed Block Courage Award is given to one player from every NFL team and honors players who exemplify commitment to the principles of sportsmanship and courage. The award is also the only one that is chosen solely by their peers.

Reid and other winners from the other 31 teams will travel to Baltimore to receive their trophies at a gala in their honor and to visit the Ed Block Courage House, which provides support and quality care for abused children and their families in the community.

Block, a longtime athletic trainer for the Baltimore Colts, was passionate towards causes that helped children.

 

Texans’ Ed Block Courage Award Winners

2019       S Justin Reid

2018       S Andre Hal

2017       OT Derek Newton

2016       OT Duane Brown

2015       DE/OLB Jadeveon Clowney

2014       OG David Quessenberry

2013       ILB Brian Cushing

2012       QB Matt Schaub

2011       ILB DeMeco Ryans

2010       TE Joel Dreessen

2009       LB Zac Diles

2008       WR Harry Williams

2007       DE Anthony Weaver

2006      LB Kailee Wong

2005      WR Jabar Gaffney

2004      DT Seth Payne

2003      CB Aaron Glenn

2002      CB Jason Bell

Saints select Sheldon Rankins for 2019 Ed Block Courage Award

Having returned from serious injury, New Orleans Saints DT Sheldon Rankins earned the 2019 Ed Block Courage Award in a vote by his teammates

In a team vote, the New Orleans Saints chose defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins as the recipient of the 2019 Ed Block Courage Award, the team announced Saturday. Rankins returned ahead of schedule from an Achilles injury he suffered back in January during a divisional round playoff game with the Philadelphia Eagles, which ultimately caused him to miss just three games. This vote from his teammates recognizes the tedious, painful work Rankins put in during the offseason to recover from an injury that could have ended his season before it started.

“This season hasn’t, statistically, personally, gone exactly as I wanted it to,” Rankins told the Saints website. “But we’re in a good position as a team and I’m continuing to get better. I’ll take it, and it’s always good when your teammates can recognize the things you’ve been through and how hard you battled to come back and try to help the team.”

Rankins currently has two sacks and five quarterback hits through his first nine games this year, posting his best game of the season on Thursday night against the Atlanta Falcons. He sacked Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan once, struck him twice, and hurried Ryan off of his spot and into the arms of his Saints teammates on more than one occasion. It’s clear that Rankins is on his way back to playing like his old self as his body continues to recuperate. His best football is yet to come.

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