Provided is a cage for protecting a worker in an excavation. The cage includes spaced apart side panels formed from a material suitably-strong to withstand a force exerted on the side panels by a collapsing wall of the excavation. A plurality of cross members extend between the side panels to substantially maintain a distance separating the side panels when subjected to the force exerted by the collapsing wall of the excavation. And a connection head that is cooperable with a coupler supported by a boom of a piece of mechanized equipment is included to couple the cage to the boom. The connection head is coupled to one or both of the side panels, one or more of the cross members, or one or both of the side panels and at least one of the cross members.