The Bears on Tuesday honored linebacker T.J. Edwards and right tackle Darnell Wright as the 2023 winners of the prestigious Brian Piccolo Award during a ceremony at Halas Hall.

The honor has been given to a Bears rookie since 1970 and was expanded in 1992 to include a veteran. Bears players vote for teammates who best exemplify the courage, loyalty, teamwork, dedication and sense of humor of Brian Piccolo, a Bears running back who died from embryonal cell carcinoma on June 16, 1970, at the age of 26.

Piccolo's valiant fight against the disease and the close friendship he developed with fellow Bears running back Gale Sayers was chronicled in the classic TV movie "Brian's Song" in 1971.

Last year in his first season with the Bears, Edwards led the defense and ranked seventh in the NFL with 155 tackles, established career highs with 2.5 sacks, three interceptions and two fumble recoveries, and registered eight tackles-for-loss and one forced fumble while starting all 17 games.

Edwards signed with the Bears last year after spending his first four NFL seasons with the Eagles, entering the league in 2019 with Philadelphia as an undrafted free agent from Wisconsin. Edwards is a Chicago area product who grew up in north suburban Lake Villa and attended Lakes High School.

"When an award is given based off how your peers voted, it means all the more," Edwards said. "I'm truly humbled and honored to receive this award."

In presenting the award to Edwards, Bears linebackers coach Dave Borgonzi recalled speaking to some friends who had coached Edwards with the Eagles and said that he was a great player and an even better person.

"I had high expectations for T.J., and he exceeded them," Borgonzi said. "T.J.'s the model of consistency every day. He comes in with a great attitude. T.J. hasn't missed a practice since he's been here, which is pretty remarkable for a linebacker."

Wright, meanwhile, was selected by the Bears with the 10th pick in last year's draft out of Tennessee and started all 17 games at right tackle as a rookie. He described Piccolo as "the perfect embodiment of a selfless person" for helping Sayers overcome a serious knee injury in 1968.

"He's behind a guy, a guy gets hurt, he comes in, doesn't know if the guy's going to come back and take his spot, but he's still helping the guy rehab," Wright said. "He was such a selfless person. If I can be an embodiment of that in any way, to help my teammates in any way, that's what I'm going to do."

In presenting the award to Wright, Bears offensive line coach Chris Morgan expressed his belief that Wright and Piccolo share many of the same traits.

"This year's recipient really exemplifies courage, loyalty, teamwork, dedication and he's got a great sense of humor," Morgan said. "When he walks into a room, the room lights up. I enjoy working with Darnell every single day. His spirit's contagious and it's perfect and fitting that he's getting this award because there are so many parallels with Brian: how he lived, what he stood for, how he interacted with his teammates, the passion he brought, how he made everyone around him better. Darnell does all of those things.

"I'm just really excited about the teammate that he is and that he's going to be. I'm excited about the leader he's becoming. I'm so excited about the role model that he is in and outside the building. He's got a chance to be a culture setter and an enforcer for a long, long time here. There's no better choice to honor the memory of Brian Piccolo and what he stood for than Darnell Wright."

Piccolo joined the Bears in 1965 as an undrafted free agent after leading the nation with 111 points and 1,044 yards rushing as a senior at Wake Forest. He was in his fifth NFL season when a chest x-ray revealed a malignancy. Piccolo passed away several months later.

Following his death, the Brian Piccolo Cancer Research Fund was established. Proceeds were sent to the Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York until 1991 when the Piccolo Fund (with the mentorship of Edward McCaskey) focused its support on cancer research at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago.

The fund initially supported research into improved detection and treatment for embryonal cell carcinoma, the rare cancer that took Piccolo's life. After early success led to survival rates skyrocketing to 95%, the fund shifted its focus to breast cancer, which strikes hundreds of thousands of women each year. The fund also provides support to the Clearbrook Center for the developmentally disabled in Arlington Heights.

The Brian Piccolo Cancer Research Fund, with the support of the Bears, the NFL Foundation, Wake Forest University, the Gavers Community Cancer Foundation and many other generous donors have raised more than $16 million for cancer research. The fund remains active and welcomes contributions from others who share its commitment to breast cancer research and to Piccolo's memory.

Bears vice president Patrick McCaskey emceed Tuesday's ceremony. Coach Matt Eberflus introduced Morgan and Borgonzi.

Bears owner Virginia McCaskey, chairman George H. McCaskey, president/CEO Kevin Warren and general manager Ryan Poles were also in attendance.

Members of the Piccolo family on hand included Joy Piccolo O'Connell, Brian Piccolo's widow, and one of their three daughters, Traci.

Previous winners of the Piccolo Award who also attended the event were Anthony Adams, Roland Harper, Jim Osborne, James Thornton, Tom Waddle and Chris Zorich.