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Houston Texans DL Jerry Hughes has been named a finalist for the 2022 Art Rooney Sportsmanship Award, the NFL announced Thursday. The award is presented each year to an NFL player who best demonstrates the qualities of on-field sportsmanship, including fair play, respect for the game and opponents, and integrity in competition.

The finalists, featuring four players from each conference, are Hughes, DL Calais Campbell (Ravens), RB Nick Chubb (Browns) and DL Maxx Crosby (Raiders) from the AFC, and RB Dalvin Cook (Vikings), LB Lavonte David (Buccaneers), RB Aaron Jones (Packers) and FB Kyle Juszczyk (49ers) from the NFC.

Hughes, a 13-year veteran, was selected in the first round (31st overall) of the 2010 NFL Draft by the Indianapolis Colts and has played in 196 games (145 starts) with the Colts (2010-12), Buffalo Bills (2013-2021) and Houston Texans (2022). Since entering the league, he’s recorded 66.0 sacks, notched 91 tackles for loss and 137 quarterback hits, which all rank in the top-20 among active players. Hughes’ 53.0 sacks as a Buffalo Bill also rank fourth all-time in franchise history.

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The Sugar Land, Texas native returned home in 2022 to play for the Texans, where he’s posted 8.0 sacks, which is tied for 11th-most in the NFL and the third-most he’s recorded through the first 13 weeks of any season over his career. The team captain has also recorded three multi-sack games, tied for the second-most multi-sack games in the NFL this season.

Texans Head Coach Lovie Smith has recognized Hughes’ leadership by stating, “It says a lot when you’re Jerry Hughes, and you will be one of the defensive captains when you’ve only been in the building less than a year, to have that kind of impact on your teammates. Jerry’s a veteran rusher and a veteran player that’s done it the right way all his career.”

 

Texans Defensive Line Coach Jacques Cesaire has also praised Hughes’ integrity noting, “There’s nothing that he does that surprises me. It’s the consistency. He’s the same person all the time. I always say to people, how you do one thing is how you do everything. That’s how he is.”

The Art Rooney Sportsmanship Award was created in 2014 in honor of the late founding owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers and Pro Football Hall of Famer Art Rooney Sr. The winner of the NFL Sportsmanship Award is determined by a vote of current NFL players. From the eight finalists, each team’s players submit a consensus vote of their choice for the winner. As in Pro Bowl voting, a team cannot vote for its own player.