FOXBORO, Mass. — Special teams ace Nate Ebner was announced Thursday as the New England Patriots’ recipient of the 2018 Ed Block Courage Award, given annually to the player on each team who “best exemplifies the principles of courage and sportsmanship while also serving as a source of inspiration.”
Primarily, the award recognizes perseverance, which Ebner displayed this year in his return from a season-ending knee injury.
“It’s a great honor,” Ebner said Thursday afternoon. “All the people that have come before me that have won that award, it’s really special to be named amongst that group. It just means a lot. It’s nice to be recognized. And I can name a lot of people in this locker room who deserve something like that and have a great story and work extremely hard.
“So it’s extremely humbling, and at the same time, I can’t do that without the environment that the Patriots have offered me to work in, from the training staff to the weight room people, all that stuff. It’s a team effort, really, at the end of the day.”
After tearing his ACL on a fake punt in late November 2017, Ebner recovered in time to play in 15 of New England’s 16 games this season, recording a team-high 13 special teams tackles and leading the team in special teams snaps played (72.6 percent).
“It’s been a grind,” said Ebner, who earned second-team All-Pro honors in 2016. “It’s been as hard as any season I’ve had in the league. I can definitely say that. But again, I can’t do it without all the help I get, and I get so much help and support, not only from my teammates, but the training staff and just the whole building is extremely helpful in my progression throughout the entire year.
“I’ve had a lot of shoulders I’ve been able to lean on throughout the process, so it’s made it a lot easier.”
The 2017 Ed Block Courage Award also went to a Patriots special teamer: Matthew Slater, who made the Pro Bowl that season despite playing in just nine games. Previous New England recipients include Nate Solder (2016), Jerod Mayo (2015) and Rob Gronkowski (2014).
