Joe Flacco makes late push for comeback player of the year
It has been presumed for months that Bills safety Damar Hamlin will be named the 2023 NFL comeback player of the year. Others are making a late push for the prize.
The most unexpected eleventh-hour effort comes from Browns quarterback Joe Flacco. Unsigned until November 20, Flacco has started four games, winning three in a row and cementing Cleveland's push for the playoffs. He's averaging 326 passing yards per game.
His current odds to win the award are 4-1, via DraftKings Sportsbook. Hamlin remains the favorite, at -400.
The question is whether Hamlin has actually played enough. He has appeared in five of 15 games in 2023, with only 17 defensive snaps. However, his comeback story is both unique and undeniable; on January 2, his heart stopped twice on the field after a fluke incident that has dramatically increased awareness regarding the risk of sudden cardiac arrest for athletes who suffer a blow to the chest.
Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield has 8-1 odds to win it. Given that he has started every game and could take Tampa Bay back to the playoffs in their first post-Tommy season, Mayfield is definitely worthy.
The problem with the award is that there's no consensus definition of "comeback." Is it on-field injury? Off-field adversity? Poor performance? Improvement?
The AP has considered adding a separate award for most improved player. That has yet to be adopted.
Others on the list for 2023 are Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa (12-1), Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford (12-1), Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson (50-1), and Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson (70-1).
From 1967 through 1997, there was no AP comeback player of the year award. Past winners include Tom Brady (2008), Peyton Manning (2013), Geno Smith (20220), and Chad Pennington — the only player to win it twice, in 2006 with the Jets and 2008 with the Dolphins, after the Jets dumped him for Brett Favre.
