Jacksonville Jaguars veteran outside linebacker Dawuane Smoot is the team’s nominee for the NFL’s Walter Payton Man of the Year Award.
The Jaguars made the announcement on the video scoreboards Monday night during the first quarter of a Week 13 game against the Cincinnati Bengals.
#Jaguars OLB Dawuane Smoot is the Jax nominee for the Walter Payton Man of the Year honor: pic.twitter.com/6gqPrunkSu
— Demetrius Harvey (@Demetrius82) December 5, 2023
Smoot, 28, was the Jaguars’ third-round selection in the 2017 NFL draft and is the longest tenured member of the team’s defense. He spent much of the 2023 offseason as a free agent after suffering an Achilles tear late in the 2022 season, but was re-signed by the Jaguars before training camp.
In seven seasons with the Jaguars, Smoot has 23.5 sacks and 27 tackles for loss.
For My Cause My Cleats week, Smoot wore cleats supporting The Elsie Academy, a bilingual preschool he and his wife are in the process of opening in Jacksonville.
Former Jaguars defensive lineman Calais Campbell is the only player from the team to ever win the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award, which has existed since 1970.
