T.J. Hockenson Selected as Vikings 2024 Ed Block Courage Award

 

Jan 10, 2025 at 10:00 AM

Andy Kenutis/Minnesota Vikings

 

EAGAN, Minn. — The Minnesota Vikings on Friday announced the selection of T.J. Hockenson as the team's 2024 Ed Block Courage Award recipient.

 

Hockenson was recognized for overcoming a torn ACL he suffered on Dec. 24, 2023, and returning to action in Week 9 against the Indianapolis Colts on Nov. 3, 2024.

 

His season debut included three receptions for 27 yards on four targets, highlighted by a 19-yard reception. It was followed with eight catches for 72 yards on nine targets at Jacksonville.

 

Hockenson totaled 41 receptions for 455 yards in 10 games (nine starts) in 2024, bringing his career totals to 382 receptions for 4,002 yards and 23 touchdowns and being named as a fourth alternate for the 2025 Pro Bowl Games.

 

He has played 35 games for Minnesota and recorded 196 catches for 1,934 yards and eight touchdowns since becoming a Viking.

 

The Ed Block Courage Foundation annually honors one player from every NFL team who exemplifies commitment to the principles of sportsmanship and courage. Recipients are selected by their teammates to be honored for their courage, inspiration and ability to overcome adversity on and off the field, while also serving their respective community throughout the season. The Ed Block Courage Award is named in honor of Ed Block, the longtime head athletic trainer of the Baltimore Colts.

Andy Kenutis/Minnesota Vikings

 

For more information on the Ed Block Courage Award Foundation, visit edblock.org.

 

Vikings Ed Block Courage Award Honorees

1984 Steve Riley

1985 Keith Nord

1986 Walker Lee Ashley

1987 Scott Studwell

1988 Leo Lewis

1989 Jim Gustafson

1990 Gary Zimmerman

1991 Terry Allen

1992 Darrin Nelson

1993 Henry Thomas

1994 Cris Carter

1995 John Randle

1996 Scottie Graham

1997 Robert Smith

1998 Randall Cunningham

1999 Robert Griffith

2000 Gary Anderson

2001 Daunte Culpepper

2002 Lewis Kelly

2003 Eric Kelly

2004 Corey Chavous

2005 Koren Robinson

2006 Matt Birk

2007 Chad Greenway

2008 Kenechi Udeze

2009 E.J. Henderson

2010 Cedric Griffin

2011 Anthony Herrera

2012 Adrian Peterson

2013 Kevin Williams

2014 Greg Jennings

2015 Phil Loadholt

2016 Teddy Bridgewater

2017 Kyle Rudolph

2018 Everson Griffen

2019 Linval Joseph

2020 Cam Smith

2021 Anthony Barr

2022 Blake Proehl

2023 Brian O'Neill

2024 T.J. Hockenson

Nebraska Football 2024: The MVPs, Best Wins, and What Could Have Been

 

Offering superlatives and plaudits for the Huskers’ 2024 season.

Chris Fort | December 29, 2024

Nebraska offensive line coach Donovan Raiola / Dylan Widger-Imagn Images

Best Coaching Job: Donovan Raiola

The offensive line didn’t get enough praise this year. Their running yards and sacks allowed don’t necessarily show it, but the O-Line played better than they have in a long while, putting it all together against a good Wisconsin defense on Senior Day. Just two years after fielding arguably the worst O-Line in modern Husker history, Raiola put together a dependable unit despite being without both top left tackles and often without their best offensive guard in Micah Mazzccua.

Runner-Up: Terrance Knighton

 

Former Ravens Terrell Suggs, Marshal Yanda among Pro Football Hall of Fame semifinalists

 

Finalists for 2025 class will be announced later this year

BALTIMORE, MARYLAND - NOVEMBER 17: Marshal Yanda #73 of the Baltimore Ravens looks on prior to the game against the Houston Texans at M&T Bank Stadium on November 17, 2019 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Todd Olszewski/Getty Images)

 

By Brian Wacker | bwacker@baltsun.com

UPDATED: November 20, 2024 at 4:38 PM EST

 

Former Ravens stars Terrell Suggs and Marshal Yanda moved closer to the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Wednesday.

Both are among 25 modern-era semifinalists for the Class of 2025, the Hall of Fame announced. Suggs and Yanda have a chance to join Ray Lewis, Ed Reed and Jonathan Ogden in being enshrined as first-ballot selections.

Other semifinalists who also played for Baltimore include Anquan Boldin, Steve Smith Sr., Willie Anderson and Earl Thomas. Former Ravens defensive tackle Haloti Ngata did not make the cut from last month’s list of 50 that had been whittled down from 167 initial nominees.

Suggs ranks eighth all-time in sacks with 139 over 17 seasons, all but one of which he spent with the Ravens. Drafted 10th overall out of Arizona State by Baltimore in 2003, the outside linebacker was also the NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 2011 with a career-high 14 sacks and seven forced fumbles and the league’s Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2003 with a dozen sacks.

He was also an All-Pro in 2011, selected to seven Pro Bowls and won two Super Bowl titles, including one with the Ravens during the 2012 season and another with the Kansas City Chiefs in 2019 in the final year of his career.

Suggs, 42, was arrested in Arizona earlier this year after allegedly threatening to kill another driver and pulling out a gun at a Starbucks drive-through in what was the latest incident in a long list of legal troubles, but the Hall of Fame explicitly instructs voters to consider only what players do on the field.

 

Yanda, meanwhile, was a two-time All-Pro and selected to the Pro Bowl in eight of his nine seasons at right guard. He was also named to the NFL 2010s All-Decade Team and, like Suggs, helped Baltimore win its second championship in 2012.

He spent his entire 13-year career with the Ravens before retiring in 2019.

Smith, who was with Baltimore for his final three years in the league from 2014 to 2016, was a two-time All-Pro and five-time Pro Bowl selection and ranks eighth on the all-time receiving yards list (14,731). Boldin, who played for the Ravens from 2010 through 2012 and was a three-time Pro Bowl selection before his arrival, was also a key contributor to Baltimore’s title run and ranks 14th in the NFL in career receiving yards (13,779).

The list of 25 nominees will be cut to 15 finalists later this year, with between four and eight being selected for induction into the class of 2025.

Have a news tip? Contact Brian Wacker at bwacker@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/brianwacker1.

Originally Published: November 20, 2024 at 1:30 PM EST