The campaign for 2023 NFL Comeback Player of the Year is almost over.
Injury news and return date..
The last five seasons have seen a quarterback win the Associated Press NFL Comeback Player of the Year honor, and this season is probably going to be no different.
Given the closeness of the race, the winner will probably be determined in the final three weeks of the season, despite the strong arguments made by a number of players. Five potential front-runners for the AP NFL Comeback Player of the Year are shown below:
Head coach of the Los Angeles Rams Matthew Stafford
Stafford is ranked 10th in the NFL in throwing touchdowns (21), 11th in passing yards (3,320), and 14th in passer rating (90.9) among quarterbacks who have played in 13 or more games, just months after suffering a spinal cord injury. Oh, and he now has the Rams as the No. 7 seed in the playoffs.
Stafford should be at the top of many voters’ ballots having returning from such a terrible injury at the age of 35 and missing half of the last campaign.
2. Tampa Bay Bucs quarterback Baker Mayfield
Although Mayfield isn’t recovering from an injury, it is impressive that he had a successful comeback season despite playing in 12 games for two different teams and fighting to maintain his career. In terms of touchdowns (24) and passer rating (94.7), he is tied for eighth place. In terms of passing yards (3,315), he is ranked 12th.
More astonishingly, he has the Bucs tied for first place in the NFC South with the New Orleans Saints and the team at the No. 4 spot in the NFC.
3. Joe Flacco, quarterback for the Browns
Considering that Flacco has only participated in three games this season, this may seem a bit extreme, but he has helped the Browns, who are currently the No. 5 seed in the AFC, avoid elimination from the postseason by winning two of those games and throwing for over 300 yards in back-to-back performances.
Looking at what Flacco has accomplished right from his couch is really amazing. One has to wonder how many of those teams, like the Jets or Vikings, are blaming themselves for not calling Flacco sooner, given the amount of starting quarterbacks that have suffered injuries this season.
4. Buffalo Bills’ S Damar Hamlin
Despite being the oddschecker favorite to win COPY, Hamlin has only played 96 snaps in four games this season. Given what he had through the previous year, some could say he should have won the award for simply setting foot on a field. Although they are correct, he hasn’t really contributed much to the season and has only played in less than 25% of it.
5. Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson
Jackson is ranked fifth by me because, unlike New York Jets running back Breece Hall, he did not miss the most of the previous season due to a severe injury. Jackson did play in 12 of the 17 games played last season.
Nevertheless, Jackson is prospering in Todd Monken’s offense coordinator scheme in his rookie year, leading all quarterbacks in rushing yards (741) and ranked 15th in passing yards (3,105).
