National Football League Comeback Player of the Year Award

The National Football League Comeback Player of the Year Award is a number of awards that are given to a National Football League (NFL) player who has become better after a bad season before.[1] The awards have been chosen by some groups, including the Associated Press (AP), Pro Football Writers Association (PFWA), Sporting News, and United Press International (UPI). As of the 2022 season, Chad Pennington has been the only player to have won the Associated Press NFL Comeback Player of the Year Award in multiple seasons.

AP Comeback Player of the Year award (1963–1966, 1998–present)

From 1963 to 1966, the award was given to both an NFL and AFL player. No award was given between 1966 and 1998.[1][2]

AP Comeback Player of the Year
Year Player Position Team
1963 Jim Martin Kicker Baltimore Colts
Paul Lowe Running back San Diego Chargers
1964 Lenny Moore Baltimore Colts
Abner Haynes Kansas City Chiefs
1965 John Brodie Quarterback San Francisco 49ers
Paul Lowe (2) Running back San Diego Chargers
1966 Dick Bass Los Angeles Rams
Babe Parilli Quarterback Boston Patriots
No award given between 1967 and 1997
1998 Doug Flutie Quarterback Buffalo Bills
1999 Bryant Young Defensive tackle San Francisco 49ers
2000 Joe Johnson Defensive end New Orleans Saints
2001 Garrison Hearst Running back San Francisco 49ers
2002 Tommy Maddox Quarterback Pittsburgh Steelers
2003 Jon Kitna Cincinnati Bengals
2004 Drew Brees San Diego Chargers
2005 Tedy Bruschi Linebacker New England Patriots
Steve Smith Sr. Wide receiver Carolina Panthers
2006 Chad Pennington Quarterback New York Jets
2007 Greg Ellis Defensive end Dallas Cowboys
2008 Chad Pennington (2) Quarterback Miami Dolphins
2009 Tom Brady New England Patriots
2010 Michael Vick Philadelphia Eagles
2011 Matthew Stafford Detroit Lions
2012 Peyton Manning Denver Broncos
2013 Philip Rivers San Diego Chargers
2014 Rob Gronkowski Tight end New England Patriots
2015 Eric Berry Safety Kansas City Chiefs
2016 Jordy Nelson Wide receiver Green Bay Packers
2017 Keenan Allen Los Angeles Chargers
2018 Andrew Luck Quarterback Indianapolis Colts
2019 Ryan Tannehill Tennessee Titans
2020 Alex Smith Washington Football Team
2021 Joe Burrow Cincinnati Bengals
2022 Geno Smith Seattle Seahawks

PFW/PFWA Comeback Player of the Year award (1972–present)

From 1972 to 1991, the Comeback Player of the Year award was given by Pro Football Weekly (PFW) only. PFW and the Professional Football Writers of America (PFWA) combined their awards from 1992–2012.[2]

Season Player Team Position
1972 Earl Morrall Miami Dolphins Quarterback
1973 Roman Gabriel Philadelphia Eagles
1974 Joe Namath New York Jets
1975 Dave Hampton Atlanta Falcons Running back
1976 Greg Landry Detroit Lions Quarterback
1977 Craig Morton Denver Broncos
1978 John Riggins Washington Redskins Running back
1979 Larry Csonka Miami Dolphins Fullback
1980 Jim Plunkett Oakland Raiders Quarterback
1981 Ken Anderson Cincinnati Bengals
1982 Lyle Alzado Los Angeles Raiders Defensive end
1983 Billy Johnson Atlanta Falcons Wide receiver
1984 John Stallworth Pittsburgh Steelers
1985
No award given
1986 Joe Montana San Francisco 49ers Quarterback
Tommy Kramer Minnesota Vikings
1987 Charles White Los Angeles Rams Running back
1988 Greg Bell Los Angeles Rams
1989 Ottis Anderson New York Giants
1990 Barry Word Kansas City Chiefs
1991 Jim McMahon Philadelphia Eagles Quarterback
1992 Randall Cunningham
1993 Marcus Allen Kansas City Chiefs Running back
1994 Dan Marino Miami Dolphins Quarterback
1995 Jim Harbaugh Indianapolis Colts
Garrison Hearst Arizona Cardinals Running back
1996 Jerome Bettis Pittsburgh Steelers
1997 Robert Brooks Green Bay Packers Wide receiver
1998 Doug Flutie Buffalo Bills Quarterback
1999 Bryant Young San Francisco 49ers Defensive tackle
2000 Joe Johnson New Orleans Saints Defensive end
2001 Garrison Hearst (2) San Francisco 49ers Running back
2002 Tommy Maddox Pittsburgh Steelers Quarterback
2003 Jon Kitna Cincinnati Bengals
2004 Willis McGahee Buffalo Bills Running back
2005 Steve Smith Carolina Panthers Wide receiver
2006 Chad Pennington New York Jets Quarterback
2007 Randy Moss New England Patriots Wide receiver
2008 Chad Pennington (2) Miami Dolphins Quarterback
2009 Tom Brady New England Patriots
2010 Michael Vick Philadelphia Eagles
2011 Matthew Stafford Detroit Lions
2012 Peyton Manning Denver Broncos
2013 Philip Rivers San Diego Chargers
2014 Rob Gronkowski New England Patriots Tight end
2015 Eric Berry Kansas City Chiefs Safety
2016 Jordy Nelson Green Bay Packers Wide receiver
2017 Keenan Allen Los Angeles Chargers
2018 Andrew Luck Indianapolis Colts Quarterback
2019 Ryan Tannehill Tennessee Titans
2020 Alex Smith Washington Football Team
2021 Joe Burrow Cincinnati Bengals
2022 Geno Smith Seattle Seahawks

UPI Comeback Player of the Year award (1962–1969)

In 1962, United Press International (UPI) chose a comeback player for the first time. The winner, Frank Gifford, had made a comeback from a bad injury from a hit by Chuck Bednarik. The following year, the Associated Press (AP) made a similar award. UPI stopped the award after 1963. They gave it one more time in 1969. The AP did not give out the award from 1967 to 1998.

  • 1962 Frank Gifford, WR, New York Giants[3]
  • 1963 Ed Brown, QB, Pittsburgh Steelers[4]
  • 1964–1968 No award given
  • 1969 Gale Sayers, RB, Chicago Bears

Sporting News NFL Comeback Player of the Year award

References

General
  • "Comeback Player of the Year". Pro Football Writers of America. Retrieved January 17, 2014.
Specific
  1. ↑ "NFL Comeback Player of the Year Award". Football Almanac. Archived from the original on January 13, 2010. Retrieved December 19, 2012.
  2. ↑ "Comeback Player of the Year". Pro Football Writers Association. Retrieved February 19, 2014.
  3. ↑ United Press International (1-04-1963).NFL Comeback-of-the-Year Award Voted to Frank Gifford of Giants Archived 2012-10-24 at the Wayback Machine Hartford Courant, Hartford CT. Retrieved 12-20-2009.
  4. ↑ United Press International. (12-21-1963).Steelers' Brown Comeback Winner Lodi News-Sentinel. Retrieved 12-20-2009.
  5. ↑ Sporting News. (January 15, 2009). SN's Comeback Player of the Year: Antonio Bryant[permanent dead link] Sporting News Retrieved 12-20-2009.
  6. ↑ Sporting News. (January 14, 2010). Titans QB Vince Young voted Sporting News 2009 NFL Comeback Player of the Year Archived 2010-02-17 at the Wayback Machine Sporting News Retrieved 12-20-2009.
  7. ↑ "SN 2010 NFL Comeback Player of the Year: Michael Vick". Sporting News. January 12, 2011. Archived from the original on July 3, 2015. Retrieved July 2, 2015.
  8. ↑ "Sporting News 2011 NFL awards: Plaxico Burress, Comeback Player of the Year". Sporting News. January 25, 2012. Archived from the original on January 31, 2012. Retrieved January 16, 2018.
  9. ↑ "Adrian Peterson voted Sporting News' Comeback Player of the Year". Sporting News. January 22, 2013. Archived from the original on January 23, 2013. Retrieved January 16, 2018.
  10. ↑ Cash, Rana (January 28, 2014). "Can't keep Darrelle Revis down; Bucs cornerback named Sporting News' Comeback Player of the Year". Sporting News. Retrieved February 7, 2021.[permanent dead link]
  11. ↑ Cash, Rana (January 22, 2015). "Patriots' Rob Gronkowski named Sporting News Comeback Player of the Year". Sporting News. Retrieved February 7, 2021.[permanent dead link]
  12. ↑ Collins, Cory (January 12, 2016). "Cardinals' Carson Palmer named Sporting News' Comeback Player of the Year". Sporting News. Archived from the original on November 22, 2018. Retrieved February 7, 2021.
  13. ↑ Marvez, Alex (January 24, 2017). "Packers' Jordy Nelson voted Sporting News Comeback Player of the Year for 2016". Sporting News. Retrieved February 7, 2021.
  14. ↑ Reeve Jr., Will (January 25, 2018). "Chargers WR Keenan Allen wins Sporting News' Comeback Player of the Year Award". USA Today. Retrieved February 7, 2021.
  15. ↑ VanTryon, Matthew (January 15, 2019). "Andrew Luck voted Sporting News comeback player of the year by NFL players". The Indianapolis Star. Retrieved February 7, 2021.
  16. ↑ Haislop, Tadd (January 9, 2019). "NFL awards: Resurgent 49ers dominate voting for Sporting News' 2019 honors". Sporting News. Retrieved February 7, 2021.
  17. ↑ Cadeaux, Ethan (January 21, 2021). "Alex Smith named NFL Comeback Player of the Year by Sporting News". NBC Sports. Retrieved February 7, 2021.
  18. ↑ "NFL awards: Cowboys, Bengals break through in voting for Sporting News' 2021 honors". www.sportingnews.com. Retrieved February 3, 2022.