After tearing his ACL in December of 2020, Rodney McLeod wondered if his NFL career might be over.
It was the second time in his career facing an ACL recovery and and this time he was on the wrong side of 30. So McLeod had a brief moment where he really wondered if he could do it all over again.
“I did have a moment to myself where I did question my football career, but I was encouraged by a lot of the text messages and support I received on social media from family, friends and fans,” McLeod said last May. “Honestly, that really reminded me of who I am and my character and who I stand for and who I’m doing it for. So quickly I moved on and committed myself to the rehab process.”
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While McLeod did miss the beginning of the 2021 season, he returned to play 13 games in 2021, improving as the year went on and providing much-needed veteran leadership for the Eagles, who turned a four-win team from 2020 into a playoff team in 2021.
For his efforts, McLeod has been named by his Eagles teammates as the team’s Ed Block Courage Award winner for his commitment to the “principles of sportsmanship and courage.”
McLeod won this award, which is given out based solely on the votes of his teammates, and it comes not long after he was named the NFLPA’s Alan Page Community Award winner.
Two prestigious awards for McLeod is just a few weeks.
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"It really caught me off guard, to be honest. I know I've had a lot of adversity throughout my years – the past three years, stemming from injuries, I would say – so being able to bounce back is just part of it," McLeod said to the Eagles’ website. "I look at a guy like (right tackle) Lane Johnson and see what he was able to overcome this year and how challenging it was to deal with the mental health and the stress from that – he showed a lot of bravery and is now an advocate for mental health, and then you look at how he performed, there were several guys who were deserving of the Ed Block Courage Award.
"To receive this kind of recognition from my teammates, guys I go to battle with each and every day and week who see my grind and my passion for this game, I'm glad for them to recognize me with the award. It's a blessing, to be honest. That's the best way to describe it."
Last year’s Eagles winner was defensive end Joe Ostman, who came back from an ACL tear. The years before, it went to Brandon Brooks, Carson Wentz and Joe Walker. This is the 44th year for the award, which goes to one player on each team.
McLeod, 31, joined the Eagles as a free agent during the 2016 offseason and has become a huge part of the team since then, including during the 2017 Super Bowl run. McLeod has now played six years in Philly after playing the first four years of his career with the St. Louis Rams.
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While he’ll turn 32 before the start of the 2022 season, McLeod did play very well down the stretch in 2021, making a few plays that helped the Eagles punch their ticket to the postseason. Which sets up a very difficult decision for the Eagles this offseason.
Because McLeod will become an unrestricted free agent on March 16, when the new league year begins. While the team would probably like to get younger at the position, McLeod and Anthony Harris — both starters from 2021 — are going to be free agents.
McLeod has said publicly that he’d like to return and it might make sense for the Eagles to try to bring him back on a one-year deal. Before the 2020 season, the Eagles signed McLeod to a two-year deal worth just under $8.7 million.
“Yeah, that’s real,” McLeod said after the Eagles lost in the playoffs. “The seas change every single year. My future here is unknown. This is not how I wanted it to end if this is the last time for me.”
Aside from his play on the field, McLeod has also been a constant positive force in the locker room and in the community since arriving in Philadelphia in 2016. He’s been getting some much-deserved recognition the last few weeks.