The Los Angeles Rams have nominated safety Eric Weddle for the 2019 Art Rooney Sportsmanship Award. The award is meant to praise and highlight players who exemplify sportsmanship on the field.
Weddle is one of 32 nominated players, one from each team. The nominees will soon be narrowed down to just eight as members of the NFL Legends Community decide who should make the final ballot. The eight finalists, four from each conference, will be included on the Pro Bowl ballot, and NFL players will vote on the eventual winner. Should Weddle make it past the first round of cuts, the Rams players will not be allowed to vote for him.
The Pro Bowl and Sportsmanship Award voting takes place on December 13, but the winner of the Sportsmanship Award will not be revealed until the NFL Honors show on Feb. 1. The winner will also receive a $25,000 donation to the charity of his choice, courtesy of the NFL Foundation. Should Weddle win, it would be his first Sportsmanship Award as well as the Rams’ first winner.
Weddle has consistently been a professional on the field and has earned the respect of his peers. That being said, Weddle is not afraid to share his opinion off the field.
Weddle recently took to Twitter to bemoan the potential extension of the NFL regular season to 17 games. Additionally, Weddle and former Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown got into it online earlier this season. Despite those online issues, Weddle is sure to have a strong candidacy for the Sportsmanship Award this year.
With a number of changes to the Rams defense in 2019, Weddle has emerged as one of their centerpieces. After just one offseason in Los Angeles, he was named a team captain, showing how influential he has been to the Rams defensive success and locker room as a whole.
The Art Rooney Sportsmanship Award is only in its sixth year of existence. Its namesake comes from Pittsburgh Steelers founder and owner Art Rooney, who was one of the NFL’s greatest competitors. Past recipients of the award include Drew Brees, Luke Kuechly, Frank Gore, Charles Woodson and Larry Fitzgerald.
Other nominees this season include Julio Jones, Lamar Jackson, Christian McCaffrey, Nick Chubb, Derek Carr, Von Miller, Carson Wentz, Matthew Stafford, Deshaun Watson and Patrick Mahomes, among others.
