As thrilling as it can be for an NFL player to receive an honor from the media based on his level of play between the lines, if you talk to some NFL players, it’s the awards for off the field perseverance, chosen by their peers, that hit a little differently. Specifically, the Ed Block Courage Award recognizes the superb efforts both on and off the field in a player’s overcoming great adversity.
Each of the 32 NFL teams has an Ed Block Courage Award winner, selected by the players on the team. The award was established in 1984, and has become one of the league’s most prestigious awards. On Wednesday, it was announced that, for 2024, the Houston Texans have selected DE Dylan Horton as their 2024 Ed Block Courage Award winner.
Back in December of 2023, Horton was placed on the Non Football Illness list, and it was announced that his rookie season would be coming to an end, which led to massive speculation over what exactly Horton as suffering from. As it turned out, Horton was diagnosed with Stage 4 Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
After undergoing and completing treatment, and becoming cancer-free, Horton amazingly returned to the field in October 2024, and has been a part of the defensive line rotation ever since. Selected in the fourth round (109th overall selection) of the 2023 NFL Draft, Horton has appeared in 21 games, picking up 21 tackles, four quarterback hits, one tackle for loss and one fumble recovery.
Horton will join the 31 other winners in the annual tradition of traveling to Baltimore to receive their trophy at a gala in their honor. On the trip, they will visit the Ed Block Courage House, a facility that provides support and care for abused children and their families. Block was a longtime head athletic trainer for the former Baltimore Colts, and in addition to being a pioneer in athletic training, was passionate about causes that support children.
Among former Block Award winners for the Texans are three other cancer survivors — David Quessenberry (2014), Andre Hal (2018), and John Metchie III (2023) — as well as the Texans’ current head coach, former linebacker DeMeco Ryans (2011), after his recovery from a torn Achilles in 2010. Here is the complete list of Texans winners:
HOUSTON’S ED BLOCK COURAGE AWARD WINNERS
2024 DE Dylan Horton
2023 WR John Metchie III
2022 CB Tavierre Thomas
2021 OL Justin Britt
2020 ILB Dylan Cole
2019 S Justin Reid
2018 S Andre Hal
2017 T Derek Newton
2016 T Duane Brown
2015 DE/OLB Jadeveon Clowney
2014 G 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
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