LOUDOUN COUNTY, Va. – The Washington Redskins announced today that they have named tight end Niles Paul the winner of the team's 2016 Ed Block Courage Award. The honor is given annually to a player from each National Football League team who displays extraordinary courage in the face of adversity.
Paul appeared in eight games for the Redskins with one start this season prior to being placed on the team's Reserve/Injured list on Tuesday. He has appeared in 68 career games for Washington with 18 starts since joining the team as a fifth-round pick (No. 155 overall) in the 2011 NFL Draft. A special teams standout throughout his career, Paul was voted by his teammates as the Redskins' special teams captain this season.
In 2014, Paul appeared in all 16 games, leading the tight end group that season with a career-high 507 receiving yards. The following year, Paul suffered a significant fracture dislocation with cartilage damage to his left ankle in the first quarter of the team's preseason opener in Cleveland.
"It was an injury where the foot and ankle specialist thought it was one of the most significant injuries he had ever seen, but with Niles' hard work, dedication and determination to get back on the field, he was able to start the 2016 regular season and play at the high level that he is capable of playing," Redskins Head Athletic Trainer Larry Hess said. "It's just a testament to how tough Niles is and how determined he was to recover from an injury of that significance."
The Courage Award is named after Ed Block, the longtime head athletic trainer of the Baltimore Colts who was a pioneer in his profession and a respected humanitarian. The inaugural Ed Block Courage Award was presented in 1978 to Baltimore Colts defensive end Joe Ehrmann. Following the Colts' departure from Baltimore in 1984, the scope of the award expanded to include one player from every team in the NFL.
REDSKINS ED BLOCK COURAGE AWARD WINNERS
- 2016 Niles Paul
- 2015 Morgan Moses
- 2014 Keenan Robinson
- 2013 Robert Griffin III
- 2012 Kory Lichtensteiger
- 2011 Stephen Bowen
- 2010 Ma'ake Kemoeatu
- 2009 Phillip Daniels
- 2008 Reed Doughty
- 2007 Marcus Washington
- 2006 Randy Thomas
- 2005 Khary Campbell
- 2004 Brandon Noble
- 2003 Fred Smoot
- 2002 Chris Samuels
- 2001 Cory Raymer
- 2000 James Thrash
- 1999 Tre' Johnson
- 1998 Darrell Green
- 1997 James Jenkins
- 1996 Ed Simmons
- 1995 Keith Taylor
- 1994 Mark Schlereth
- 1993 Art Monk
- 1992 Anthony Johnson
- 1991 Donnie Warren
- 1990 Joe Jacoby
- 1989 Neil Olkewicz
- 1988 Doug Williams
- 1987 Mel Kaufman
- 1986 Darryl Grant
- 1985 Ken Huff
- 1984 Mark May
