While NFL free agency has been underway for nearing a week and is dominating the headlines, there are still other important stories going on around the league.
Among those is various awards and special recognitions given to teams for various exemplary work aside from just the results on the field. The Green Bay Packers are widely considered to have one of the best front offices and coaching staffs in football, and they're no stranger to offseason honors.
In unsurprising yet still noteworthy news, the Packers recently received a distinction that shines light on an often under-appreciated part of the organization.
The Ed Block NFL Athletic Training Staff of the Year award goes to the Packers.
— Rob Demovsky (@RobDemovsky) March 12, 2025
Big honor for Bryan "Flea" Engel, Nate Weir, Kurt Fielding, Erin Roberge, Brandon Kukal, Andrew DePietropaolo and Ali Ghaisarnia. https://t.co/olB4KuD7sQ
Packers Given NFL Training Staff of the Year Award
As announced last week at the Ed Block Courage Awards event in Baltimore, Maryland, the Packers are the recipient of the NFL Athletic Training Staff of the Year award, named after Block himself. It's a tremendous accomplishment for Bryan 'Flea' Engel, Nate Weir, Kurt Fielding, Erin Roberge, Brandon Kukal, Andrew DePietropaolo and Ali Ghaisarnia.
Green Bay promoted Engel to vice president of player health and performance and Weir to director of sports medicine/head athletic trainer back in April of 2024. The move clearly paid off, and the Packers have now received this honor for the second time in the last 15 years and third time in the last 35 years.
As voted on by the Professional Football Athletic Training Society (PFATS), the award is given to one NFL athletic training staff annually for its "distinguished service to the club, community and profession."
After having won in 2011, Green Bay is one of two teams to have been honored twice in that span, joining the Buffalo Bills. In the midst of a critical offseason with a young roster and plenty of draft picks, it's a big bonus to know that your training staff is considered to be elite. As proven in recent years, this organization can get the best out of its players, and now it's just a matter of building on the strong foundation.
Fans should be excited about the future and winning this award is just one reason why.