Watt, Olsen, Jenkins, Smith among NFL Man of Year finalists
NEW YORK (AP) - J.J. Watt, Malcolm Jenkins, Greg Olsen and Alex Smith are among the 32 nominees for the Walter Payton Man of the Year award given by the NFL.
Each team nominates one man for the award, which honors a player's work away from the game and his demeanor during play.
A selection panel is asked to vote for players based on involvement in the community and performance on the playing field.
Finalists are announced in January during halftime of the AFC championship game and the winner will be revealed at NFL Honors, when The Associated Press announces its individual award winners, on the night before the Super Bowl.
The panel consists of Commissioner Roger Goodell; NFL Senior Vice President of Social Responsibility Anna Isaacson; Pro Football Hall of Famer LaDainian Tomlinson, who won the award in 2006; last year's winners, Larry Fitzgerald and Eli Manning; representatives from NBC, Fox, CBS and ESPN; two national sports writers; Connie Payton, Walter's widow; Brian Gallagher, the CEO of United Way Worldwide; and Terrance Williams, the CMO of Nationwide, which is the presenting sponsor of the award.
The nominees:
Arizona Cardinals - Patrick Peterson
Atlanta Falcons - Ben Garland
Baltimore Ravens - Benjamin Watson
Buffalo Bills - Lorenzo Alexander
Carolina Panthers - Greg Olsen
Chicago Bears - Sam Acho
Cincinnati Bengals - Michael Johnson
Cleveland Browns - Randall Telfer
Dallas Cowboys - Travis Frederick
Denver Broncos - Chris Harris Jr.
Detroit Lions - Haloti Ngata
Green Bay Packers - Clay Matthews
Houston Texans - J.J. Watt
Indianapolis Colts - Darius Butler
Jacksonville Jaguars - Malik Jackson
Kansas City Chiefs - Alex Smith
Los Angeles Chargers - Casey Hayward
Los Angeles Rams - Rodger Saffold
Miami Dolphins - Kenny Stills
Minnesota Vikings - Kyle Rudolph
New England Patriots - Nate Solder
New Orleans Saints - Cameron Jordan
New York Giants - Mark Herzlich
New York Jets - Quincy Enunwa
Oakland Raiders - Bruce Irvin
Philadelphia Eagles - Malcolm Jenkins
Pittsburgh Steelers - Cameron Heyward
San Francisco 49ers - Bradley Pinion
Seattle Seahawks - Michael Bennett
Tennessee Titans - Wesley Woodyard
Tampa Bay Buccaneers - Clinton McDonald
Washington Redskins - Nick Sundberg
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