Former Chargers linebacker Donnie Edwards has been selected to be the team’s 2019 NFL Salute to Service nominee, the league announced.
The award, presented annually by USAA and the NFL, honors a league member who demonstrates commitment to honoring and supporting the military community across the country and overseas.
Edwards spent five seasons with the Chargers from 2002-2006. He was twice voted as an All-Pro linebacker and was one of only eight players in the history of the NFL to record 20 interceptions and 20 sacks over a career.
Edwards has founded the Best Defense Foundation that takes World War II veterans and Vietnam Veterans back to their battlefields and memorials so they can pay homage to their fallen brothers who never got a chance to live a full life.
Edwards brought sixteen World War II veterans back to the shores of northern France to commemorate the 75th anniversary of D-Day.
Past nominees from the franchise include defensive tackle Sean Lissemore and Alex Spanos. Finalists will be announced in January, and the recipient will be recognized at NFL Honors, a two-hour primetime awards special to air nationally on Feb. 1, 2019 in Miami, FL, the night before Super Bowl LIV.
