I wouldn’t say he’s being protected. It’s June. If he actually plays come September then yeah he’s being protected. But right now the league seems to be in the “wait and see”. I think they’re hoping he winds up in jail and they don’t have to worry.
He is being protected. Other players who were accused of less then him were placed on the restricted list while theirs was an investigation. In other cases, the NFL did a thorough investigation, and it didn’t take this long. This started in January 2021. He got paid for all of last season. He got a trade and a record deal.