NFL Awards: 6 candidates for 2023 NFL Comeback Player of the Year
The NFL gives out different awards every season. Some are performance-based, such as league MVP, while others are awarded to athletes who do charitable work. NFL Man of the Year Walter Payton is a player voted each year as the most philanthropic and self-interested athlete. Next up is the Associated Press (AP) Player of the Year award. Often, athletes achieve success, but then experience something tragic, such as an injury, poor performance, or a situation that renders the game futile. When he returned to the field, he shone again.
Seattle Seahawks QB Geno Smith won the award last season. Smith looked like a career backup quarterback with five starts in six years before finding success as QB1 with the Seahawks. He earned Pro Bowl honors and led the NFL in completion percentage (69.8%). Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, Rob Gronkowski and Teddy Bruschi all won awards after injuries and put together remarkable comeback seasons. Michael Vick won the award after multiple Pro Bowl seasons and then found success on the field with other clubs after serving time in prison. Who will receive this award this year? Here are six things to consider: Damar Hamlin – Buffalo Bills
Last season, in Week 17 during a pivotal game between the Bills and the Cincinnati Bengals, Hamlin suffered a heart attack on the Bengals field and later died. Paramedics quickly reached him and resuscitated him there. The entire league was shocked immediately and for a month. The match was then abandoned and was not resumed or replayed. If you weren’t a Bills fan, you probably didn’t know anything about this young man. Then the universe suddenly gained insight into his life both on and off the field. Prior to the incident, the former sixth-round pick had a solid season, totaling 91 tackles, 1.5 sacks, six tackles for loss and three QB hits in 15 games and 13 starts.
It was later discovered that Hamlin suffered from cardioplegia, an extremely rare condition that causes the heart to beat during certain 40-millisecond periods of the heart’s electrical cycle. It is practically fatal if medical help is not given within 3 to 4 minutes.
Hamlin’s offseason was an absolute struggle as he was forced to breathe through a tube and was removed on January 6th. Numerous tests were performed and Hamlin had to undergo extensive rehabilitation to remember how to perform simple daily tasks. He made his first appearance in Super Bowl LVII in February 2023. In April, Hamlin was cleared to return to Buffalo. He announced that he will continue his football career. He was a full participant in training camp, making his first appearance in a preseason game against the Las Vegas Raiders on Aug. 12, but was a healthy scratch for the first three games of the regular season. He has minimal stats this season, playing five games without a start. He played his first game in Week 10 against the Denver Broncos.
Get this: Hamlin’s stats this year are minimal. He’s not even a rookie, as he’s listed on the depth chart as Micah Hyde’s unreserved safety. All other candidates have specific performance indicators that are considered evidence of their ability to receive this award. But Hamlin died on the football field. He was taken back and fought every day to get his life back. This year, he’s playing in the NFL and taking defensive snaps every Sunday.
Can he win Player of the Year? He has already won the game of life.
QB Joe Flacco – Cleveland Browns
Having barely played the entire 2023 schedule, Flacco was signed after the team lost starter Deshaun Watson to a shoulder injury, journeyman PJ Walker failed to impress and Dorian Thompson-Robinson looked like a first-round rookie Fifth. Flacco was introduced as the starting pitcher in Week 13 after practicing alone at his home in Tavernier, Fla., tossing tickets to his father, brother and UPS workers in his spare time.
He played last season and was the starting pitcher for the New York Jets in the last game. Called up to help a quarterback-needy team like the Browns, he will take the next step and become the starter for the entire playoff schedule. Cleveland went 7-4-0 when Flacco took over and lost their first game 36-19 to the Los Angeles Rams. The Browns then went on to win 4 straight games and secure the 5th playoff spot.
Flacco has topped 300 yards in the last four games for the first time in his career. Flacco’s last good season was 2014, and his last good year was 2017. With the Jets, he was irrelevant and sometimes terrible. Now, a new life has begun in Cleveland for a team that will need his experience and leadership.
He’s done a great job with the Browns entering the year with one of the league’s elite offensive lines, a solid asset for any quarterback. But injuries not only impacted the roster, but the offensive line continued to take hits. The three starting offensive tackles are now on the IR list: Jack Conklin, Jedrick Wills and DaVand Jones. Other players in the losing group this year include OG Drew Forbes and C Dawson Deaton.
But Flacco took advantage of the predicament of not having a quarterback this year to revitalize Cooper’s Pro Bowl skills. More importantly, he was named to the playoff roster and led the team in the postseason with 11 wins.
While Hamlin is the favorite, Flacco is in contention for the award. WR Cooper Kupp – Los Angeles Rams
After playing in the Senior Bowl, Kupp was a third-round pick by the Rams in 2017. In his third season, he surpassed 1,000 yards with 1,161 yards. In 2021, he was named the NFL Offensive Player of the Year with 1,947 receiving yards, a Pro Bowl selection and first-team All-Pro honors. He also won the receiving triple crown, including NFL receptions leader, NFL receiving yards leader and NFL receiving yards leader. That season, the Rams won the Super Bowl and Cupp was named the game’s MVP. He was ranked fourth among the NFL’s top 100 players of the Class of 2022, as voted by the league’s players. While he made another Pro Bowl appearance last year, he suffered a sprained ankle in a Week 10 loss to the Arizona Cardinals. His home was listed on IR for the rest of the season. He was expected to play in Week 1 against the Seattle Seahawks after recovering from an ankle injury and a shortened 2022 season, but suffered a long-term hamstring injury in training camp this year. He eventually went to a specialist when the Rams placed him on IR to start the season to help him make a full recovery. He didn’t return from IR until the Week 5 game against the Philadelphia Eagles. He’s had a decent campaign since then, but nowhere near what he did in 2022. Kupp currently has 737 yards, including five touchdowns and 33 first down receptions. He topped 100 yards in three games, including 148 in Game 2 against the Arizona Cardinals. RB Breece Hall – New York Jets
Last year’s Rookie of the Year was on pace to win league Rookie of the Year honors when he tore his ACL and meniscus in the second quarter of a Week 7 win against the Broncos. Before that game, it was under 72 yards. The first half. Hall has 463 yards with four scores in six and a half games. He added 218 yards and a touchdown again as a pass receiver and eventually became the starting running back in his final two games. At this year’s Jets training camp, Hall recently returned to practice and received high praise from the coaching staff and teammates. While the franchise signed free agent RB Dalvin Cook, the deal means Hall’s carries will be reduced at first, but will keep him fresh. But Cook had just 214 yards on 67 carries and was eventually waived.
Hall has 186 carries for 816 yards, four touchdowns, 74 receptions for 579 yards and four extra scores. Last year, when Hall was playing football, no one caught him. Most of the time it doesn’t seem to move that fast, but it has wheels. He caught fire this year because of a very weak offensive unit.
QB Baker Mayfield – Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- The veteran moved from team to team and finally found a home. He was once considered a candidate to be one of the best in the league.
He signed with Tampa Bay last offseason, and Tom Brady eventually retired on a one-year deal worth $4 million that rose to $8.5 million. And he played so well that the Bucs had a chance to win the NFC South. That means a playoff berth with a home game in the postseason.
Is Mayfield the future of this franchise? It depends on what the future means. If that means the next 2-3 years
