Joe Flacco upset Damar Hamlin for last year’s Comeback Player of the Year award and that didn’t sit well with the Associate Press. They clarified terms going forward to ensure the essence of how the honor is meant to be is awarded.
“The spirit of the AP Comeback Player of the Year award is to honor a player who has demonstrated resilience in the face of adversity by overcoming illness, physical injury or other circumstances that led him to miss playing time the previous season. The decision to provide this guidance was made last December but could not be implemented for the 2023 awards because the season was almost completed.”
So, with that in mind, let’s breakdown the five favorites for this year’s Comeback Player of the Year award according to FanDuel.
2024 NFL Comeback Player of the Year Predictions
Jets QB Aaron Rodgers (+200)
Four.
That’s not only the grand total of how many snaps Rodgers played last season, but also the number of MVP awards he’s won in his first-ballot Hall of Fame career.
The Jets' season was completely derailed after Rodgers suffered his season-ending Achilles injury. They finished 7-10, but it would have been worse if not for a defense that ranked third in yards allowed (292.3 ypg). That’s a brutal indictment of how awful New York’s offense was without Rodgers.
However, the Jets enter the 2024 campaign favored to win the stacked AFC East at +160. That’s how big a difference Rodgers makes for this team and why he’s the front runner to win this year’s award.
Bengals QB Joe Burrow (+220)
The Bengals made back-to-back AFC Championship Games with a healthy Burrow, including an appearance in Super Bowl LVI. They appeared primed to make another run last year before he suffered a season-ending wrist injury against Baltimore in Week 11.
Cincinnati went a respectable 4-3 from then on out but was never a real threat to make a postseason run — let alone to qualify for the playoffs. That all changes with Burrow back in the fold, which is why he’s only a hair behind Rodgers as this year’s favorite.
Falcons QB Kirk Cousins (+500)
The Falcons opened up the vault to bring Cousins to Atlanta despite the 36-year-old recovering from a torn Achilles suffered in late October. Atlanta’s quarterback play has been abysmal since moving on from Matt Ryan, but Cousins is expected to make the offense click.
In fact, he’s expected to uncork a talented roster that was bottled up by poor quarterbacking and questionable coaching, which forced Atlanta to overhaul its entire operation.
Kyle Pitts, Drake London and Bijan Robinson weren’t just first-round picks … they were top-10 picks in back-to-back-to-back years. However, none have come close to their full potential. If they do this year, it’ll likely be because of Cousins. Combine that with a playoff appearance and there’s a clear path to Cousins winning the award.
Colts QB Anthony Richardson (+750)
The talented rookie played in only four games last season and managed to finish just two of them. Still, he showcased why the Colts took him with the fourth-overall pick despite limited playing time.
Richardson completed 50-of-84 passes for 577 yards and three touchdowns. Those are relatively ho-hum numbers, but it was his prowess running the ball that really turned heads. The Colts turned him lose, letting him run it 25 times for 136 yards and four touchdowns.
It’s worth noting that Colts head coach Shane Steichen said that the team will not alter Richardson’s style of play despite last year’s injury. So, extrapolating those numbers over a full season, it’s easy to see why Richardson ranks in the top five for this award entering his sophomore campaign.
Browns RB Nick Chubb (+1500)
Chubb suffered such a devastating knee injury Week 2 of last season that he’ll start this year on the Physically Unable to Perform List. That means he’ll miss at least the first four games of the regular season.
Running backs returning from knee injuries have had mixed results in their first year back, but Chubb’s talents are undeniable. Plus, he’s recovering from not just one but two surgeries, so it’s not out of the realm of possibility that could potentially sway some voters.
