NFL unveils new award: Protector of the Year

The NFL on Wednesday announced a new end-of-year annual honor that will be awarded to the league’s best offensive lineman, called Protector of the Year.

BY FIELD LEVEL MEDIA

May 21, 2025, 11:09 AM Updated: 11:26 am

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The NFL on Wednesday announced a new end-of-year annual honor that will be awarded to the league’s best offensive lineman, called Protector of the Year.

NFL executive Troy Vincent announced the award and credited Buffalo Bills four-time Pro Bowl lineman Dion Dawkins and retired two-time All-Pro Andrew Whitworth for pushing the idea.

“Recognize the big fellas,” Vincent said Wednesday at the NFL owners meetings in Eagan, Minn.

The winner will be decided by a panel that includes a number of former greats who played on the offensive line, Vincent said.

–Field Level Media

If the award would have already existed, how many would San Francisco 49ers OL Trent Williams already have in his trophy case?

Still, it might not be too late for the 36-year-old to earn the honors, as he’s still producing at an elite level.

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After extending George Kittle and Brock Purdy this offseason, the San Francisco 49ers have inked a deal with one of their franchise cornerstones on the other side of the ball.

According to ESPN‘s Adam Schefter, linebacker Fred Warner has “reached an agreement on a three-year, $63 million contract extension that includes over $56 million in guaranteed money.”

Warner becomes the highest-paid linebacker in NFL history, again.

NFL Network‘s Ian Rapoport clarified that it’s $56.7 million in guaranteed money, to be exact, for the San Francisco LB.

While some faces found new homes in free agency, or via trade, 49ers’ GM John Lynch has managed to secure extensions with Kittle, Purdy, and now Warner all in the same month.

Adding plenty of new defensive pieces in the 2025 Draft, while also bringing back defensive coordinator Robert Saleh — previous DC for the 49ers who spent the last three seasons as head coach of the New York Jets — they should have a new look on the defensive end, where they hope to return to dominance.

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