Edwards, Odunze named Bears’ Brian Piccolo Award recipients

New Bears head coach Ben Johnson faced a tough task when he spoke to those gathered at the Brian Piccolo Award ceremony Tuesday at Halas Hall.

Not only did Johnson have to find the right words to honor his new players and this year’s recipients, linebacker TJ Edwards and wide receiver Rome Odunze, whom he had recently met. He also had to find the right way to honor Piccolo’s legacy.

Johnson did so in a variety of ways. He put together a poem to honor Piccolo’s memory. Johnson also used his own and other coaches’ experiences to describe why Edwards and Odunze deserved the awards.

There was also some humor, too.

“It was in December that if you hadn’t taken the cheese on that stumble bum play,” Johnson joked about Edwards, “I don’t know if I would have gotten this job.”

Johnson continued his transition to being the Bears coach by taking part in an annual tradition for the organization. The Piccolo Award is voted on by Bears players, who select one veteran and one rookie teammate who they feel best exemplified the courage, loyalty, teamwork, dedication and sense of humor of the late Piccolo.

Edwards, a Lake Villa native, won the veteran award for a second straight season after signing with the Bears in 2023. Johnson described how he quickly learned by talking to other coaches that Edwards was a glue guy who did everything the right way.

The Bears last week rewarded Edwards from going from an undrafted player in 2019 to a dependable leader with a two-year extension.

“It’s very cool when an organization can come together and remember the people that came before them and honor them the right way,” Edwards said. “So it’s truly special to be a part of this.”

Odunze won the rookie award after consistently showing a strong work ethic and poise, Johnson said. Johnson could tell from watching Odunze’s tape that he worked hard on every play last season. He heard about Odunze’s mature approach from other coaches who watched him come in prepared and ready to learn each day.

Odunze told reporters he was honored to receive the award. He was also inspired by the speeches in Tuesday’s ceremony.

“(It) inspires me to go out there, not only play great football, but be a good human, go out there and make a legacy that’s lasting, that hopefully one day someone’s like, ‘thank you for this Rome Odunze award’ or something like that,” Odunze said. “So it means a lot.”