Buffalo Bills CB Stephon Gilmore has been named as the team’s Ed Block Courage Award winner.
The Buffalo Bills announced on Tuesday that CB Stephon Gilmore was selected as the team’s Ed Block Courage Award winner.
The Ed Block Courage Award is presented to the Buffalo Bills player who exemplifies a commitment to the principles of sportsmanship and courage. The recipient symbolizes professionalism, great strength, dedication and serves as a community role model for others.
Gilmore will take part in the 39th annual national Ed Block Courage Awards Foundation ceremony on March 11, 2017 at The Renaissance Hotel – Inner Harbor Baltimore in Baltimore, MD and he will be honored with the 31 other award representatives from each NFL team.
Gilmore battled back from a major shoulder injury at the end of the 2015 season to put together a highly productive season. Gilmore totaled 48 tackles, five interceptions and 12 passes defensed this season on the way to his first career Pro Bowl honor. His five interceptions were tied for fifth in the NFL and he is the first Bill with five interceptions in a season since Jairus Byrd in 2012. Gilmore has the 11th most passes defensed in the NFL over the past two season as he has proven himself as a leader in the secondary.
In addition to his exemplary play on the field, Gilmore has also managed to make an impact in both the Buffalo community and his community back home in South Carolina. Gilmore hosted his annual Skills and Drills Football Camp in Rock Hill, SC this past summer and also participated in the My Cause, My Cleats initiative this season by wearing cleats that in support of the Alzheimer’s Association.
The award is named for Ed Block, the former Head Athletic Trainer of the Baltimore Colts from 1954 through 1977 and continued to serve the team until his death in 1983. Block, a WWII veteran, cared for his player’s physical health as well as for the well-being of countless children. The Ed Block Courage Award Foundation promotes the prevention of child abuse by raising awareness of the epidemic and assisting agencies who provide for the care and treatment of abused children in communities throughout the National Football League (NFL). That objective is coupled with the Foundation’s commitment to celebrating players of inspiration in the NFL. http://www.edblock.com/index.htm