Ali Marpet named Buccaneers 2020 Ed Block Courage Award recipient

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers announced today that offensive lineman Ali Marpet was selected by his teammates as the team’s 2020 Ed Block Courage Award recipient.

Ed Block Courage Award recipients symbolize professionalism, great strength and dedication, in addition to being community role models. Each year, the Ed Block Courage Awards honors those National Football League players who exemplify commitments to the principles of sportsmanship and courage. This award is unique in that the recipients are selected solely by a vote of their teammates.

“I’m honored and humbled to be selected as the Buccaneers’ Ed Block Courage Award recipient,” said Marpet. “I’ve worked hard to represent our organization to the best of my ability both on the field and in the community. We have a locker room full of players who are equally deserving, so being chosen by my teammates as our team’s representative for this award means a great deal to me.”

Marpet, who just finished his sixth NFL season – all with Tampa Bay – is one of 32 NFL players who will be honored at the 43rd Annual Ed Block Courage Awards. Details regarding the awards ceremony will be announced at a later date.

In his six seasons with Tampa Bay, Marpet has started all 85 career regular season games he has played in. In 2020, Marpet started 13 regular season games and all four postseason contests for the Buccaneers en route to a victory in Super Bowl LV. Marpet was part of an offensive line that allowed a sack on only 3.4 percent of dropbacks in 2020, the second-lowest mark in the NFL, and was part of an offense that ranked third in points per game (30.8), seventh in yards per game (384.1) and seventh in yards per play (6.04). This season, Marpet earned All-NFC honors from the Pro Football Writers of America and was named a first-team All-Pro selection by Pro Football Focus.

Marpet has been a leader in the Tampa Bay community during his time with the Buccaneers. The offensive lineman helped establish the Buccaneers Social Justice Initiative in 2018, leading the team’s participation in a variety of monthly events each season. As one of four members of the team’s Social Justice Player Board, he spearheads important conversation, programming and team engagement in social justice causes throughout the NFL and the Tampa Bay area. Last fall, Marpet helped launch the Buccaneers Youth Leadership Program, a first-of-its-kind commitment to uplift students in East Tampa through mentorships, after-school support and community events. Leading up to the 2020 elections, he was active in the team’s BucsVote campaign, encouraging fans to get registered and carry out their civic duties through voting. And over the course of the 2020 season, Marpet provided support for the Innocence Project and Robert DuBoise, a Tampa man exonerated in 2020 after spending 37 years in prison for crimes he did not commit.

Each year, Marpet also supports a variety of charities with direct ties to Tampa Bay. For several years, he has given back to Metropolitan Ministries, a nonprofit that alleviates suffering, promotes dignity and instills self-sufficiency for homeless and underserved children and families. He has been an active participant in the annual Cut for a Cure to benefit the National Pediatric Cancer Foundation, a locally-based charity that raises funds and awareness to find less toxic, more effective treatments for childhood cancer. He has utilized the NFL’s My Cause, My Cleats initiative to help raise awareness for the National CMV Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to protecting against the risk of congenital CMV, a devastating virus that affects newborns. And along with his fellow offensive linemen, Marpet helps lead the team’s longest-running holiday program: “Turkey Time with the O-Line,” which has provided more than 10,500 Thanksgiving meals to local families since its inception in 2007.

(Courtesy of the Buccaneers Communications Department.)