A Profile of Courage

Jermon Bushrod ’07 was the New Orleans Saints’ recipient of the 2018 Ed Block Courage Award.

When Jermon Bushrod re-signed with the New Orleans Saints for the 2018 season, he never could have anticipated the personal battle that lay ahead.

On October 18, 2018, his newborn daughter Jordyn Lynn passed away only a week after her birth. In the month that followed, Bushrod leaned heavily on his faith, his family and his teammates for support. It wasn’t long before his team needed him. When the Saints’ standout left tackle, Terron Armstead, was sidelined with an injury, Bushrod stepped in to fill the starting role, helping the Saints win four of their next five games.

In response to Bushrod’s dedication during such a trying time, his teammates voted him their 2018 Ed Block Courage Award winner, which is given annually to one player from each NFL team who has persevered through adversity.

Bushrod accepted the award March 23 at a ceremony in Baltimore. “You know, when the good times happen, you praise the Lord, but when adversity strikes, you’ve got to lean on Him,” he said. “And that’s just what happened between my wife and I, and our two kids, and my mother, father, sister—my whole family. My Towson boys, my King George [High School] boys, my Towson family, my agents, everybody...I just wanted to say thank you to all of them because we felt their prayers, we felt the support, we felt the love.”

Photo credit: Danette Fisher