ALAMEDA, Calif. – Oakland Raiders TE Jared Cook has been selected as the Raiders' 2018 Ed Block Courage Award recipient.
The Ed Block Courage Award is presented to the player who exemplifies a commitment to the principles of sportsmanship and courage. Additionally, the award recognizes a player's efforts on and off the field, as well as their ability to overcome great adversity. The recipient is selected by a vote of his teammates.
Cook, who came to Oakland as a free agent prior to the 2017 campaign, has emerged as a top weapon on the Raiders' offense this season. Through Week 12, Cook leads the team in receiving yards (609), touchdowns (five) and ranks second on the team in receptions (47).
Cook started the 2018 season off strong, racking up 180 yards on nine catches in the season opener against the Los Angeles Rams. The 180 yards set a Raiders franchise record and tied for the sixth-highest total by a tight end in NFL history. In a Week 4 win over Cleveland, Cook hauled in eight passes for 110 yards with two touchdowns. Six of his eight catches against the Browns went for first downs and his second touchdown tied the game with just 30 seconds remaining in regulation. His performance was part of a historical effort for the Silver and Black, as the Raiders produced a 100-yard receiver, 100-yard rusher and a 400-yard passer for the first time since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger. He tied a single-season career high with his fifth touchdown reception of 2018 last week, as a one-handed effort at Baltimore cut the Ravens' lead to three points in the third quarter.
In 2017, his first year with the Raiders, Cook started all 16 games and led the team with 688 receiving yards on a career-high 54 receptions while adding two touchdowns. His yardage total marked the sixth-highest among NFL tight ends.
Cook joined the Silver and Black after playing one season with Green Bay, seeing action in 10 games and posting 30 receptions for 377 yards with one touchdown. He played in all three postseason games for the Packers, tying for the team lead with 18 receptions for 229 yards, which were both top marks by a Packers tight end in a single postseason, including a memorable 35-yard reception against the Dallas Cowboys to set up the game-winning field goal in the NFC Divisional Playoffs.
He played three seasons with St. Louis Rams from 2013-15, appearing in all 48 games and topping 50 receptions twice, while establishing a career high in 2013 with five touchdown catches. Cook, who attended South Carolina, started his NFL career with the Tennessee Titans after the club selected him in the third round (89th overall) of the 2009 NFL Draft.
Derek Carr was the Raiders' Ed Block Courage Award recipient in 2017.
The Ed Block Courage Award annually honors one player from each NFL team. The award has become one of the most esteemed honors bestowed upon a player in the NFL, primarily because his selection is based upon a vote of his peers.
The Ed Block Courage Award is named in honor of Ed Block, the longtime head athletic trainer of the Baltimore Colts, who was a pioneer in his profession and a respected humanitarian. In 1989, the Ed Block Courage Award Foundation formulated the Courage House National Support Network for Kids.
