(Photo credit: Kevin Ng-Imagn Images)

Reigning NFL Most Valuable Player Josh Allen, fellow quarterbacks Trevor Lawrence, Drake Maye and Matthew Stafford, and San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey are the finalists for The Associated Press 2025 MVP award.

They were announced Thursday, as were the finalists for seven other season-ending AP awards that will be handed out Feb. 5 in San Francisco at the annual NFL Honors ceremony. That night, the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year and the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2026 also will be presented, and the new Protector of the Year Award to honor the league's best offensive lineman in 2025 will be given out.

McCaffrey also is a finalist for Offensive Player of the Year and Comeback Player of the Year, making him the first player in the running in three categories in the same season. Maye and Lawrence each are finalists for two awards.

All five MVP candidates led their teams to the postseason, with Maye and his New England Patriots and Stafford and his Los Angeles Rams to play in conference championship games on Sunday.

In the Coach of the Year category, the list includes three coaches in their debut season with their teams -- two of them first-year head coaches.

The finalists:

Most Valuable Player

Josh Allen, QB, Buffalo Bills

Trevor Lawrence, QB, Jacksonville Jaguars

Drake Maye, QB, New England Patriots

Christian McCaffrey, RB, San Francisco 49ers

Matthew Stafford, QB, Los Angeles Rams

Coach of the Year

Liam Coen, Jacksonville Jaguars

Ben Johnson, Chicago Bears

Mike Macdonald, Seattle Seahawks

Kyle Shanahan, San Francisco 49ers

Mike Vrabel, New England Patriots

Assistant Coach of the Year

Vic Fangio, Philadelphia Eagles

Brian Flores, Minnesota Vikings

Vance Joseph, Denver Broncos

Klint Kubiak, Seattle Seahawks

Josh McDaniels, New England Patriots

Comeback Player of the Year

Stefon Diggs, WR, New England Patriots

Aidan Hutchinson, DE, Detroit Lions

Trevor Lawrence, QB, Jacksonville Jaguars

Christian McCaffrey, RB, San Francisco 49ers

Dak Prescott, QB, Dallas Cowboys

Defensive Player of the Year

Will Anderson Jr., DE, Houston Texans

Nik Bonitto, LB, Denver Broncos

Myles Garrett, DE, Cleveland Browns

Aidan Hutchinson, DE, Detroit Lions

Micah Parsons, DL, Green Bay Packers

Offensive Player of the Year

Drake Maye, QB, New England Patriots

Christian McCaffrey, RB, San Francisco 49ers

Puka Nacua, WR, Los Angeles Rams

Bijan Robinson, RB, Atlanta Falcons

Jaxon Smith-Njigba, WR, Seattle Seahawks

Defensive Rookie of the Year

Abdul Carter, LB, New York Giants

Nick Emmanwori, S, Seattle Seahawks

James Pearce Jr., DE, Atlanta Falcons

Carson Schwesinger, LB, Cleveland Browns

Xavier Watts, S, Atlanta Falcons

Offensive Rookie of the Year

Jaxson Dart, QB, New York Giants

Emeka Egbuka, WR, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

TreVeyon Henderson, RB, New England Patriots

Tetairoa McMillan, WR, Carolina Panthers

Tyler Shough, QB, New Orleans Saints

--Field Level Media