Cam Newton named Panthers’ Ed Block Courage Award winner

Carolina Panthers players voted quarterback Cam Newton as the team’s 2015 Ed Block Courage Award winner, the team announced Tuesday.

The award, given annually to one player from each NFL team, is given to a player that shows courage on and off the field.

Newton, who will likely be named the NFL’s MVP in less than three weeks, is coming off a 2014 season where he had offseason ankle surgery, cracked his ribs in the preseason and then suffered a back injury in a car accident late in the season.

This year he’s produced 45 touchdowns and finished with a career-high 99.4 passing rating.

His work in the Charlotte and Atlanta communities is also noted in this award. Through his foundation, Newton has worked closely with public schools systems, needy families and student athletes since starting the Cam Newton Foundation in 2012.

Previous winners of the award, named after a humanitarian and longtime athletic trainer of the Baltimore Colts, are Greg Olsen (2014), Ryan Kalil (2013), Ron Edwards (2012), Thomas Davis (2011) and Jordan Gross (2010).

This story was originally published January 19, 2016 at 9:39 AM with the headline "Cam Newton named Panthers’ Ed Block Courage Award winner."