NFL CPOTY : NFL Nominates QB Joe Flacco and 5 Other Candidates…

Every season, the NFL gives out several honors. Some awards based on performance, such as league MVP, but others are given to NFL players who have a more benevolent side. The Walter Payton Man of the Year Award is given to one player each year who is voted to be the most humanitarian and community-oriented.

The Associated Press (AP) Comeback Player of the Year award is another. Often, an athlete will have success and then suffer a sad event, such as an injury, bad performance, or circumstances that prevent them from playing for one season. And when he returned to the field, he was amazing once more.

Last season, Geno Smith of the Seattle Seahawks received the honor. Smith had bounced about the league as what appeared to be a career backup player, with only five starts in six years, until finding success as the Seahawks’ QB1. He was named to the Pro Bowl and led the NFL in completion percentage (69.8%).

Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, Rob Gronkowski, and Tedy Bruschi all won the award after being injured and then rebounding with outstanding seasons. Michael Vick earned the honor after several Pro Bowl appearances, a prison sentence, and subsequent success on the field with another team.

Who will win this award this year? Here are six to consider.

S Damar Hamlin – Buffalo Bills

Last season, in Week 17, during a pivotal game between the Bills and the Cincinnati Bengals, Hamlin suffered a heart arrest on the Bengals’ field and died as a result. EMS personnel went to his aid and resuscitated him on the spot. The entire league was stunned instantly and for an entire month. The game was then paused and never restarted or replayed.

If you weren’t a Bills fan, you probably didn’t know who this young man was. The universe was instantly informed about his life on and off the field. Prior to the event, the former sixth-round draft pick had 91 total tackles, 1.5 sacks, six tackles for loss, and three QB hits in 15 games and 13 starts.

Later, it was discovered that Hamlin had an episode of commotio cordis, a very rare disorder in which cardiac rhythm is disturbed by a blow to the chest during a precise 40-millisecond span in the heart’s electrical cycle. If medical assistance is not provided within 3-4 minutes, the situation is almost certain to be lethal.

Hamlin’s off-season was a struggle because he had to breathe through a tube, which was removed on January 6. A battery of tests were administered, and Hamlin was forced to undergo intensive rehabilitation just to remember how to perform basic everyday duties again. He made his debut at Super Bowl LVII in February 2023.

Hamlin was fully cleared to return to Buffalo by April. He declared his wish to return to football. He was a full participant in training camp and made his debut on August 12 against the Las Vegas Raiders in a preseason game, but he was a healthy scratch for the first three regular season games. He has appeared in five games this season, making 0 starts, and has recorded few numbers. He made his first tackle against the Denver Broncos in Week 10.

Consider this: This year, Hamlin has only a few stats. He isn’t even the starter; he’s listed as the backup free safety to Micah Hyde on the depth chart. All of the other finalists have measurable production levels that demonstrate their ability to win this award. However, Hamlin was killed on the football field. He was brought back and then struggled every day to reclaim his life. This season, he is in the NFL every Sunday and plays defensive snaps.

Is he a contender for Comeback Player of the Year? He’s already a winner in the game of life.

QB Joe Flacco – Cleveland Browns

 

Flacco was signed after the team lost starter Deshaun Watson to a shoulder injury, journeyman P.J. Walker failed to impress, and Dorian Thompson-Robinson looked like a fifth-round rookie for practically the entire 2023 season.

After working out on his own at his house in Tavernier, Florida, and chucking passes to his father, brother, and the UPS man when he had some free time, Flacco was inserted as the starting in Week 13.

He was a starter for the New York Jets in the final game of last season. He was called to assist a quarterback-needy team like the Browns and asked to deliver, and he will be the starting once the playoffs begin. Cleveland was 7-4-0 when Flacco took over, but they were defeated 36-19 by the Los Angeles Rams in his debut. Since then, the Browns have won four straight games and clinched the #5 spot in the playoffs.

Flacco has thrown for more than 300 yards in four consecutive games for the first time in his career. Flacco’s last excellent season was in 2014, and 2017 was arguably his last good year. He was unimportant and at times horrible with the Jets over the last three seasons. Cleveland has given him new life on a club that desperately needs his experience and leadership.

He has done incredible things considering the Browns entered the season with one of the league’s best offensive lines, which is an apparent help to any quarterback. However, injuries have destroyed not only the roster, but also the offensive line, which has taken hit after hit. Three starting offensive tackles have been placed on injured reserve: Jack Conklin, Jedrick Wills, and Dawand Jones. OG Drew Forbes and C Dawson Deaton are two others from this group who have been lost for the season.

However, Flacco has utilized the tight end group like no other quarterback this year, revitalizing Cooper’s Pro Bowl powers.

More importantly, he has taken a playoff-eligible team and led them to the postseason by winning 11 games.

Although Hamlin is the clear favorite, Flacco is making a strong case for the honor.

WR Cooper Kupp – Los Angeles Rams

Kupp was a third-round pick of the Rams in 2017 after playing in the Senior Bowl. In his third season, he had surpassed the 1,000-yard mark with 1,161 yards. In 2021, he distinguished himself among NFL receivers with a great 1,947-yard performance that earned him a Pro Bowl, First Team All-Pro, and NFL Offensive Player of the Year honors. He also earned the receiving triple crown, as the NFL’s receptions leader, receiving yards leader, and receiving touchdowns leader.

That season, the Rams won the Super Bowl, and Kupp was awarded the game’s MVP. He was ranked fourth on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2022 list, which was decided by the league’s players.

Last year, he suffered a high ankle sprain in a Week 10 loss to the Arizona Cardinals while on another Pro Bowl pace. His house was placed on the injured reserve list for the rest of the season.

He was supposed to be ready for the Week 1 game against the Seattle Seahawks after rehabbing from an ankle injury and a curtailed 2022 season, but he had a lingering hamstring ailment from this year’s training camp. He eventually went to consult a specialist after the Rams placed him on injured reserve to begin the season to allow him to fully recover.

He didn’t come off injured reserve until the Week 5 game against the Philadelphia Eagles. He’s had a decent campaign since then, albeit nowhere like as good as he was in 2022. Kupp has 737 yards, five touchdowns, and 33 first down receptions this season. He has surpassed the 100-yard mark three times, including a best of 148 yards against the Arizona Cardinals in his second game back.

RB Breece Hall – New York Jets

Last year’s Rookie of the Year was on his way to being the league’s Rookie of the Year when he tore his ACL and meniscus in Week 7’s win over the Broncos. He had already collected 72 yards and a touchdown in the first half of that contest.

Hall had 463 yards and four touchdowns in six and a half games. He contributed 218 yards and one touchdown as a pass catcher before taking over as the starting running back in his last two games.

Hall returned to Jets training camp this year and received nothing but praise from the coaching staff and his teammates. While the team signed free agency running back Dalvin Cook, it initially meant less carries for Hall but would keep him fresh. Cook’s contribution, however, was only 214 yards on 67 carries, and he was eventually dismissed.

Hall has 186 carries for 816 yards and four touchdowns, as well as 74 receptions for 579 yards and four more scores.

Nobody ever really caught Hall with the football last year. And he didn’t appear to be going very quickly, but he has the wheels. He’s been on fire this year for a terrible offensive unit.

QB Baker Mayfield – Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The veteran has hopped around from team to team before finding a home. He was previously considered a contender to become one of the league’s greatest.

When Tom Brady eventually retired this offseason, he signed with Tampa Bay for a one-year deal at $4 million with incentives worth up to $8.5 million. And he has performed admirably, putting the Buccaneers in position to win the NFC South Division, which means a playoff berth with a home game in the postseason.

Is Mayfield the franchise’s future? It all depends on what you understand by “future.” Yes, if you mean the next two or three years.

Mayfield has started all 16 games this season and has 3,907 yards on 344 completions on 534 attempts. He’s thrown 28 touchdowns with only 10 interceptions, has a 64.4% completion ratio, and a QB rating of 95.9. His rushing totals are 57 carries for 156 yards and one touchdown.

He recently suffered a late hit to the ribs following yet another scramble, necessitating X-rays. The findings revealed no fractures.

QB Lamar Jackson – Baltimore Ravens

If you live in the AFC North, you know how important the Ravens’ defense and quarterback are.

Baltimore had another excellent season with an 8-4-0 start in 2022. Jackson had a 62.3% completion percentage with 17 touchdowns and seven interceptions.

Jackson was sacked and suffered a sprained PCL in Week 13 against the Denver Broncos. The first estimated period of return was three weeks. Despite missing the final five games, the Ravens went 2-3-0 during his absence and earned the sixth seed in the playoffs. Jackson was expected to return, but he was declared out after the team’s first playoff game against Cincinnati.

Jackson’s impact on the field is judged by more than his 3,000-yard passing yard average. He has 4,437 running yards in five NFL seasons and is a threat to take it downfield on every play and gain crucial yardage with his legs.

If he could reclaim his former superstar form, he would be just as deadly as before.

This season, he had 16 starts, zero injuries, 307 completions on 457 attempts for 3,678 yards, 24 touchdown passes, seven interceptions, a 67.2% completion ratio, and a QB rating of 65.3. His rushing totals include 148 attempts for 821 yards and five touchdowns.