Early Career
Vinny Curry played for the Marshall Thundering Herd football team at Marshall University. He was always an athletic player with a high motor, but his eye popping statistics didn’t show until his junior year. Curry exploded past his previous 3.5 sack sophomore year and finished his junior season with 12. His senior season was just as good as his junior season if not better. Curry finished with 11 sacks, 74 tackles, and 6 forced fumbles. After finishing his college career, his eyes were on the 2012 NFL Draft.
NFL Beginnings
Vinny Curry was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in the second round of the 2012 NFL Draft. He was not a
featured player on the Eagles defense during his rookie season. He finished with only 9 total tackles and no starts. Mirroring his college career, every year played would be a step forward in his development and the stat category. His sophomore campaign proved that he belonged in the NFL. He would finish the season with much improved numbers although he still hadn’t reached his peak. The next year Vinny Curry had a 9 sack season that was second best on the team.
Curry would have somewhat of a disappointing follow up season before signing a new five year deal with the Eagles. He would go on to help the Eagles win Super Bowl LII against the New England Patriots before being released in early 2018. In a brief period of time Vinny Curry would sign with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers before being released the next year. He signed back with the Eagles on a. one year deal and had a tumultuous season being put on IR and the reserve/COVID-19 list. His last stop was the New York Jets where he received the Ed Block Courage Award.
Injuries and the Ed Block Courage Award
Curry received the news that he had to have surgery to remove his spleen because of a rare blood disorder he’s had since birth. He had been dealing with thalassemia, a rare and inherited blood disorder that causes the body to have less hemoglobin than normal. This surgery caused him to miss the entire 2021 season and he was released in January of 2022. He was signed back by the Jets only a few months later and officially debuted in mid October of 2022. His resiliance through his disease and the determination to push past his health scare is one of the many reasons that he was voted for the Ed Block Courage Award by his teammates.
