People often don’t appreciate others beyond what someone can do for them. When it comes to National Football League players, that could strictly be how they perform on the field so that people cash in on NFL odds or fantasy wins.
That’s the downside to sports. Professionalism, and even amateur sports, are becoming more and more competitive and, unfortunately, based solely on numbers. While professional players are paid based on their performances, typically past performances rather than weekly though there are incentives for those, they offer so much more to a team than what they do on the field.
The NFL recently announced the 32 Walter Payton Man of the Year nominees, one for each team. Being named a team’s finalist in and of itself is a great honor. Each honoree gets $40,000 to donate to a charity of their choice. The winner, who will be announced at Super Bowl LVII, gets $250,000 to donate to a charity of his choice.
The league considers the award the most prestigious honor. It has been instituted since 1970 and was renamed after the late Hall of Fame running back Walter Payton in 1999. Last year’s winner was Los Angeles Rams offensive tackle Andrew Whitworth, who retired after winning the award and the Super Bowl.
The Nominees
Here are the Walter Payton Man of the Year nominees for the 2022 season:
- Arizona Cardinals – Zach Ertz (tight end)
- Atlanta Falcons – Chris Lindstrom (offensive guard)
- Baltimore Ravens – Chuck Clark (safety)
- Buffalo Bills – Dion Dawkins (offensive tackle)
- Carolina Panthers – Derrick Brown (defensive tackle)
- Chicago Bears – Jaylon Johnson (cornerback)
- Cincinnati Bengals – Sam Hubbard (defensive end)
- Cleveland Browns – Joel Bitonio (offensive guard)
- Dallas Cowboys – Dak Prescott (Quarterback)
- Denver Broncos – Dalton Risner (offensive guard)
- Detroit Lions – Jared Goff (quarterback)
- Green Bay Packers – Aaron Jones (running back)
- Houston Texans – Christian Kirksey (middle linebacker)
- Indianapolis Colts – Shaquille Leonard (outside linebacker)
- Jacksonville Jaguars – Tyler Shatley (offensive guard)
- Kansas City Chiefs – Patrick Mahomes III (quarterback)
- Las Vegas Raiders – A.J. Cole (punter)
- Los Angeles Chargers – Derwin James (safety)
- Los Angeles Rams – Tremayne Anchrum (offensive guard)
- Miami Dolphins – Jaelan Phillips (outside linebacker)
- Minnesota Vikings – Adam Thielen (wide receiver)
- New England Patriots – Lawrence Guy (defensive end)
- New Orleans Saints – Demario Davis (outside linebacker)
- New York Giants – Saquon Barkley(running back)
- New York Jets – Solomon Thomas (defensive end)
- Philadelphia Eagles – Brandon Graham (defensive end)
- Pittsburgh Steelers – Cameron Heyward (nose tackle)
- San Francisco 49ers – Arik Armstead (defensive tackle)
- Seattle Seahawks – Tyler Lockett (wide receiver)
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers – William Gholston (defensive end)
- Tennessee Titans – Derrick Henry (running back)
- Washington Commanders – Charles Leno Jr. (offensive tackle)
Tough Gig
Perhaps a surprise was one of the contending teams among Vegas NFL odds fired their general manager during the season. The Tennessee Titans are 7-5 and lead the AFC South division by three games. They are 3-0 in their division yet fired general manager Jon Robinson after seven seasons.
He made a questionable off-season move to trade wide receiver A.J. Brown and seemingly didn’t have a solid replacement plan. The Titans are 24th offensively with 25 touchdowns. They have the fourth-worst passing attack and are 15th in rushing. A dominant defense has had to bail the team out.
The next person tasked with the role will have to upgrade at quarterback and reconstruct the offensive line to complement a great defensive unit. Mike Vrabel has fared well as head coach. The Titans are 49-30, including a 2-3 playoff record, since he was hired in 2018. He’s the last coach standing who was hired in that same cycle.
No Longer Irrelevant
The San Francisco 49ers have had the injury bug bite them again at quarterback. Former first-round pick Trey Lance suffered a season-ending injury early on, and Jimmy Garoppolo suffered a similar fate Sunday.
That leaves the 49ers with Mr. Irrelevant, Brock Purdy. The former Iowa State quarterback was the final pick of the 2022 NFL Draft and will now make his first career start. The NFL lines still favor the 49ers to win the NFC West, but Purdy’s performance will allow for more data to determine how well they’ll do in the postseason.
The 6-foot-1 QB was 25-for-37 passing (67.6%) for two touchdowns and an interception in relief of Garoppolo in a 33-17 win over the Miami Dolphins in Week 13.
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