Former University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff football standout Terron Armstead was voted by his New Orleans Saints' teammates as the Ed Block Courage Award winner.
The award annually is presented to a player from each NFL team who has persevered through adversity.
Armstead's teammates voted him as the club's winner based on his dedication to his teammates. Whenever he has suffered injuries or faced different challenges, he has oftentimes put his team and teammates ahead of himself and often returned as quickly as possible based on his dedication and work ethic, realizing his importance in manning one of the most important positions in the sport of football.
One of the club's two third round draft picks (75th overall) in the 2013 NFL Draft out of Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Armstead, 6-5, 304, developed quickly and moved into the starting left tackle position in Week 16 of the regular season of his rookie campaign. He has played in 89 regular season games with 85 starts and has opened all seven of his postseason appearances. Selected to the Pro Bowl each of the last three seasons, he joins Pro Football Hall of Fame left tackle William Roaf as only the second Saints tackle to be selected three times.
Armstead, who earned a Pro Bowl spot for the third time this season and was an All-Pro in 2018, missed two games this season while on the reserve/Covid-19 list. But he also waded through several injuries and a couple of personal losses.
"It's been tough," Armstead told NewOrleans Saints.com . "Honestly speaking, it's been a challenge, and still has every day. I've got to keep reminding myself to stay focused and lock in day after day. I lost somebody that raised me. I followed him throughout my entire life, and I lost the closest person to me, so it's been extremely tough. It's been a tough challenge – 2020 has been tough for everybody for many different reasons. I lost another cousin the day before New Year's Eve to gun violence back home, so family has been dealing with another tragedy. It's been really difficult."
The Saints open the playoff Sunday hosting the Chicago Bears at 3:40 p.m. on CBS
#UAPBLionsAreComing
