The New York Jets‘ Josh McCown and New York Giants‘ Justin Pugh were nominated for the 2017 Art Rooney Sportsmanship Award.
New York Giants offensive lineman Justin Pugh and New York Jets quarterback Josh McCown are two of the 32 players that have been nominated for the Art Rooney Sportsmanship Award.
The award was created in 2014 in honor of Art Rooney Sr., the late Pittsburgh Steelers owner. It is presented to the player who best demonstrates the qualities of on-field sportsmanship, including fair play, respect for the game and opponents, and integrity in competition.
A panel of former players from the NFL Legends Community will select eight finalists from the 32 nominees. They will then decide the winner in a vote on Dec.15. The winner will be announced during the NFL Honor show on Feb. 3.
Past winners include Frank Gore of the Indianapolis Colts (2016), Charles Woodson of the Oakland Raiders (2015), and Larry Fitzgerald of the Arizona Cardinals (2014).
The bad news for Pugh is that he has been ruled out for Sunday’s game due to a back injury. The Giants signed guard John Greco on Monday to replace Pugh. The bad news (or good news) for McCown is that the Jets are on a bye this week.
Here are the 32 nominees for the Art Rooney Sportsmanship Award.
| Arizona Cardinals | CB Patrick Peterson |
| Atlanta Falcons | S Ricardo Allen |
| Baltimore Ravens | QB Joe Flacco |
| Buffalo Bills | LB Lorenzo Alexander |
| Carolina Panthers | LB Luke Kuechly |
| Chicago Bears | RB Benny Cunningham |
| Cincinnati Bengals | DE Carlos Dunlap |
| Cleveland Browns | T Joe Thomas |
| Dallas Cowboys | C Travis Frederick |
| Denver Broncos | LB Von Miller |
| Detroit Lions | DT Haloti Ngata |
| Green Bay Packers | S Morgan Burnett |
| Houston Texans | P Shane Lechler |
| Indianapolis Colts | WR T.Y. Hilton |
| Jacksonville Jaguars | LB Paul Posluszny |
| Kansas City Chiefs | QB Alex Smith |
| Los Angeles Chargers | TE Antonio Gates |
| Los Angeles Rams | G Rodger Saffold |
| Miami Dolphins | G Jermon Bushrod |
| Minnesota Vikings | DE Brian Robison |
| New England Patriots | WR Matt Slater |
| New Orleans Saints | QB Drew Brees |
| New York Giants | T Justin Pugh |
| New York Jets | QB Josh McCown |
| Oakland Raiders | QB Derek Carr |
| Philadelphia Eagles | TE Brent Celek |
| Pittsburgh Steelers | DE Cameron Heyward |
| San Francisco 49ers | T Joe Staley |
| Seattle Seahawks | DE Cliff Avril |
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers | DE Gerald McCoy |
| Tennessee Titans | QB Marcus Mariota |
| Washington Redskins | TE Vernon Davis |