FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – At Monday evening's Patriots Premiere on the field at Gillette Stadium, three-time team captain Devin McCourty became the 12th player to receive the New England Patriots Ron Burton Community Service Award.
Patriots Chairman and CEO Robert Kraft presented McCourty with the award, which is named in honor of the late Ron Burton, the first player drafted by the team and a community leader whose widespread charitable work was a model for how a Patriots player can make an impact off the field.
McCourty is entering his fifth NFL season after joining the Patriots in 2010 as a first-round draft pick out of Rutgers. McCourty earned Pro Bowl honors as a rookie to become the fourth Patriots player to be selected as a rookie. McCourty has played both cornerback and safety during his time with the Patriots. He earned Associated Press All-Pro Second Team honors at safety in 2013 and Second Team All-Pro honors as a rookie in 2010 when he played cornerback, joining Pro Football Hall of Famers Rod Woodson and Ronnie Lott as the only NFL players to earn All-Pro honors at both safety and cornerback.
McCourty immediately became one of the team's most active community participants. In four seasons as a Patriot, he has regularly participated in the team's community Tuesday events (the players' only off day each week). McCourty also has teamed with his twin brother, Jason, who plays for Tennessee to start his own foundation to help fight Sickle Cell, a disease that has affected members of his own family.
McCourty joins a select group of Patriots players to receive the Ron Burton Award. Past recipients are Joe Andruzzi (2003), Troy Brown (2004), Matt Light (2005), Jarvis Green (2006), Ty Warren (2007), Larry Izzo (2008), Kevin Faulk (2009), Vince Wilfork (2010), Jerod Mayo (2011), Zoltan Mesko (2012) and Matthew Slater (2013).
