In a vote by his teammates, New Orleans Saints linebacker Nephi Sewell has been named the club's 2024 Ed Block Courage Award winner, annually awarded to a player from each National Football League team that has persevered through adversity.
The award was created in honor of Ed Block, the former head athletic trainer of the Baltimore Colts, to annually recognize one player from every NFL team who best exemplifies a commitment to sportsmanship and courage.
Sewell's teammates voted him as the club's winner based on his work ethic and perseverance in his rehabilitation from a torn anterior cruciate ligament injury suffered in Week 17 of the 2023 season.
Originally signed as an undrafted free agent out of the University of Utah in 2022, the Orem, Utah native spent the majority of his rookie season on the team's practice squad, while contributing on special teams in four games. In 2023, he earned a spot on the 53-man roster out of the preseason and appeared in the first 16 games of the season, ranking fifth on the team in kicking game snaps to the point of his injury, while also earning reps on defense. Sewell made the most of his opportunities, totaling ten tackles (seven solo), five coverage stops and a forced fumble recovered on a punt play and returned by a teammate for a touchdown.
The month of December had inspired Sewell to have his two most productive games as a professional. In a win over Carolina on Dec. 10, he had eight tackles, including two stops for loss, which tied for the team lead. In a a 24-6 victory over the New York Giants the following week, he forced a fumble on a punt play that was recovered by LB D'Marco Jackson and returned for a touchdown. Two weeks later at Tampa Bay, on Dec. 31, Sewell suffered a season-ending knee injury.
Sewell's surgery forced a strenuous recovery and rehabilitation process that would take over nine months to make a return in 2024 possible given the late calendar date of his injury. Following his diligent and extensive work with the Saints medical staff, Sewell returned to the practice field on October 30. Three weeks later, Sewell made his season debut in the team's 35-14 win over the Cleveland Browns on November 17, seeing 15 snaps in the kicking game. Following his return to the field, Sewell will reprise his role as one of the team's core special teams players and provide depth at linebacker.
Persistence and hard work has always been a part of Sewell's makeup. Sewell previously suffered a serious injury when he needed a vertebrae fusion surgery after making a tackle for Desert Hills High School in St. George, Utah in his team's 2015 season opener. Sewell would return from the injury in 2016 and lead his team to the Utah state championship as a senior and go on to play college football at Nevada and Utah.
In the spring, Sewell will travel to Baltimore, Md. along with the other 31 Ed Block Courage Award team recipients to represent the club and participate in several events, including the Ed Block Celebration and VIP Sponsor Brunch. The visit will conclude with a special Courage Awards Ceremony and a St. Vincent's Villa Community Outreach, where the abused children of the Baltimore Ravens Courage House will present each player with their trophies.
