The National Football League on Thursday announced the finalists for the 2025 Protector of the Year Award, which included Chicago Bears offensive lineman Joe Thuney.
New in 2025, the Protector of the Year Award recognizes the NFL's top offensive lineman of the season, symbolizing protection, durability and the unsung heroics of the players who shield their teammates and drive their teams forward. The inaugural award will be presented at NFL Honors on Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026.
Thuney was named AP First-Team All-Pro (LG) and was selected to the Pro Bowl in 2025, his first season as a member of the Chicago Bears. A team captain, Thuney helped lead the Bears to an NFC North Division title and the NFC Divisional Round following a come-from-behind victory over the Green Bay Packers in the NFC Wild Card Round. Thuney anchored a Chicago offensive front that helped the Bears lead the league in fewest giveaways (11) in the regular season, ranking No. 4 in the NFL over the final 14 weeks of the regular season. Thuney led an offensive line that helped the Bears become the only team in the NFL to have multiple rushers with at least 750 yards on the ground in 2025, finishing the regular season with the No. 3-ranked rushing offense in the NFL. Thuney protected QB Caleb Williams, who started all 17 games and set the franchise's single-season passing yard record, allowing just 24 sacks, the third-fewest by any team in the league in 2025.
