AP NFL Comeback Player of the Year
| Awarded for | Comeback player of the year in the National Football League |
|---|---|
| Presented by | Associated Press |
| History | |
| First award | 1963; 1998 |
| Most wins | Chad Pennington and Joe Burrow (2) |
| Most recent | Christian McCaffrey |
The AP NFL Comeback Player of the Year (CBPOY) is an annual award presented by the Associated Press (AP) to a player in the National Football League (NFL). While the criteria for the award is imprecise,[1] it is typically given to a player who overcomes the worst adversity to return to play even a single snap of NFL football, such as not playing the previous season, injury, or for playing well in comparison to the previous year's poor performance.[2] The winner is selected by a nationwide panel of media personnel.[3] Since 2011, the award has been presented at the NFL Honors ceremony held in the days leading up to the Super Bowl. Beginning with the 2024 season, the criteria for the award was changed to emphasize players coming back from "illness, physical injury, or other circumstances that led him to miss playing time the previous season", as opposed to players having resurgent performances or "coming back from sucking".[4][5]
The AP first recognized an NFL comeback player of the year from 1963 to 1966, but these players are typically not included in overall lists of winners.[6] The AP did not give the award again until the 1998 season. Only two players have received the award more than once since the AFL–NFL merger: quarterbacks Chad Pennington, who received it in 2006 and 2008 as a member of the New York Jets and the Miami Dolphins, respectively, and Joe Burrow, who won it in 2021 and 2024.[7]
Winners
1963–1966
| NFL | AFL | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Player | Position | Team | Season | Player | Position | Team |
| Jim Martin | K | Baltimore | Paul Lowe | RB | San Diego | ||
| Lenny Moore | RB | Baltimore | Abner Haynes | RB | Kansas City | ||
| John Brodie | QB | San Francisco | Paul Lowe | RB | San Diego | ||
| Dick Bass | RB | LA Rams | Babe Parilli | QB | Boston | ||
1998–2025
Multiple-time winners
| Awards | Player | Team | Season |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Chad Pennington | NY Jets | 2006 |
| Miami | 2008 | ||
| 2 | Joe Burrow | Cincinnati | 2021 |
| Cincinnati | 2024 |
See also
- List of NFL Comeback Player of the Year awards for an overview of similar awards from other organizations
References
- ^ Burke, Chris (November 7, 2016). "Why Melvin Gordon deserves to win NFL's Comeback Player of the Year award". Sports Illustrated. Archived from the original on March 21, 2017. Retrieved March 20, 2017.
This is a good spot for a reminder that the Comeback Player of the Year criteria is, well, not exactly precise.
- ^ "NFL Comeback Player of the Year Award". Football Almanac. Archived from the original on January 13, 2010. Retrieved March 20, 2017.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ "NFL Comeback Player of the Year". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Associated Press. February 1, 2014. Archived from the original on March 21, 2017. Retrieved March 20, 2017.
- ^ Dubin, Jared (June 19, 2024). "NFL Comeback Player of the Year award criteria clarified to emphasize injury, illness after Joe Flacco's win". CBS Sports. Retrieved January 6, 2025.
- ^ Florio, Mike (June 19, 2024). "New Comeback Player of the Year guidelines could frustrate some gamblers". Pro Football Talk. NBC Sports. Retrieved January 6, 2025.
- ^ Lee, Brenden; Gellerman, Jacob; King, Robert, eds. (2015). 2015 Official NFL Record and Fact Book (PDF). National Football League. p. 527. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 1, 2015. Retrieved August 1, 2016.
- ^ Rolfe, Ben (February 7, 2021). "2020 NFL Comeback Player of the Year: Alex Smith, Washington Football Team". Pro Football Network. Archived from the original on February 7, 2021. Retrieved February 20, 2021.
Since the award's reinstatement in 1998, only Chad Pennington has won the award twice. However, the award was also briefly awarded by the Associated Press between 1963 and 1966. During that period, two awards were given each year. One for the NFL, and one for the AFL. During that time, RB Paul Lowe of the Chargers was also named Comeback Player of the Year twice (1963 and 1965).