NFL names John Metchie III 2024 Halas Award winner

When you trade up 24 spots in the second round of the NFL Draft to select a player with the 44th overall pick, the assumption is that you have major plans for that player. This is precisely the path the Houston Texans took in the 2022 draft by selecting Alabama wide receiver John Metchie III, a dynamic pass catcher in college, who performed on many big stages during his academic career.

Sometimes these plans are derailed, either because of injury or poor performance. Scarily, in Metchie’s case, his and the Texans’ plans were derailed early, in May 2022, when Metchie was diagnosed with acute promyelocytic leukemia. In short, a form of cancer. Cancer treatment forced Metchie to miss the entire 2022 season.

However, Metchie returned in 2023, and even though he wasn’t in peak form for most of the season, his mere presence on the field was a shining example of courage and perseverance. As a result, Metchie was named the 2024 recipient of the prestigious George Halas Award by the Professional Football Writers of America on Tuesday.

The Halas Award is given to an NFL player, coach or staff member who “overcomes the most adversity to achieve success.” The award is named after Halas, a Hall of Famer who impacted the league as an owner, manager, player and promoter during his 63 seasons associated with the NFL. Halas won 324 games and six NFL titles in 40 seasons as coach.

Metchie is the 56th winner of the award and the second Houston Texan to win the award, joining David Quessenberry (2017), who, like Metchie, returned after missing several seasons while being treated for cancer.

Metchie was re-signed to the Texans’ active roster on February 15, 2023 and made his NFL debut in Week 2 at home against the Colts last season. He played in 16 games for the Texans with 16 receptions for 158 yards in the 2023 season. Metchie will compete for a spot as the team’s 4th or 5th wide receiver this season, alongside Robert Woods, Noah Brown and Ben Skowronek .

Here is the full list of previous George Halas Award winners:

1969 – Joe Namath (New York Jets)
1970 – Gale Sayers (Chicago Bears)
1971 – Tom Dempsey (New Orleans Saints)
1972 – Jimmy Johnson (San Francisco 49ers)
1973 – Mike Tilleman (Atlanta Falcons)
1974 – Dick Butkus (Chicago Bears)
1975 – Rocky Bleier (Pittsburgh Steelers)
1976 – Billy Kilmer (Washington Redskins)
1977 – Tom DeLeone (Cleveland Browns)
1978 – Pat Fischer (Washington Redskins)
1979 – Bert Jones (Baltimore Colts)
1980 – Roger Staubach (Dallas Cowboys)
1981 – Rolf Benirschke (San Diego Chargers)
1982 – Joe Klecko (New York Jets)
1983 – Eddie Lee Ivery (Green Bay Packers)
1984 – Ted Hendricks (Los Angeles Raiders)
1985 – John Stallworth (Pittsburgh Steelers)
1986 – Gary Jeter (Los Angeles Rams)
1987 – William Andrews (Atlanta Falcons)
1988 – Joe Montana (San Francisco 49ers)
1989 – Karl Nelson (New York Giants)
1990 – Tim Krumrie (Cincinnati Bengals)
1991 – Dan Hampton (Chicago Bears)
1992 – Mike Utley (Detroit Lions)
1993 – Mark Bavaro (Cleveland Browns)
1994 – Joe Montana (San Francisco 49ers)
1995 – Dan Marino (Miami Dolphins)
1996 – Larry Brown (Oakland Raiders)
1997 – Jim Harbaugh (Indianapolis Colts)
1998 – Mark Schlereth (Denver Broncos)
1999 – Dan Reeves (Atlanta Falcons)
2000 – Bryant Young (San Francisco 49ers)
2001 – Kerry Collins (New York Giants)
2002 – Garrison Hearst (San Francisco 49ers)
2003 – Robert Edwards (Miami Dolphins)
2004 – Sam Mills (Carolina Panthers)
2005 – Mark Fields (Carolina Panthers)
2006 – Tony Dungy (Indianapolis Colts)
2007 – Drew Brees (New Orleans Saints)
2008 – Kevin Everett (Buffalo Bills)
2009 – Matt Bryant (Tampa Bay Buccaneers)
2010 – Mike Zimmer (Cincinnati Bengals)
2011 – Mike Heimerdinger (Tennessee Titans)
2012 – Robert Kraft (New England Patriots)
2013 – Chuck Pagano (Indianapolis Colts)
2014 – JO Brigance (Baltimore Ravens)
2015 – Steve Gleason (New Orleans Saints)
2016 – Eric Berry (Kansas City Chiefs)
2017 – David Quessenberry (Houston Texans)
2018 – Marquise Goodwin (San Francisco 49ers)
2019 – Ryan Shazier (Pittsburgh Steelers)
2020 – Travis Frederick (Dallas Cowboys)
2021 – Alex Smith (Washington Football Team)
2022 – Ron Rivera (Washington Football Team)
2023 – Damar Hamlin (Buffalo Bills)
2024 – John Metchie III (Houston Texans)

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