The NFL Comeback Player of the Year winners from 1998 to present day

The first winner of the revamped Comeback Player of the Year award went to a man who dealt with the greatest of adversity: Living in Canada. Kidding, all you Great White North residents! Flutie won the Heisman at Boston College, but as an undersized quarterback in the 1980s, he struggled to secure a role in the NFL. That led to a decade of playing in the CFL, where he was arguably the greatest quarterback the league ever saw. The Bills decided to take a chance on him, as a backup at first, but Flutie entered the starting lineup and in 10 starts helped the team post a 7-3 record that got them into the playoffs.

Here’s a more traditional kind of winner for this award. Young had already been a first-team All-Pro defensive lineman by the time he suffered a severely broken leg in 1998. The type of serious break that made some wonder if, not when, he would play at his top level again. With a rod inserted into his leg, Young returned in time to play the full 1999 season and pick up 11 sacks. He’d play for the 49ers until his retirement in 2007 and be named to the Hall of Fame.

Johnson, like Young, suffered a serious leg injury in 1998. The difference is the Saints defensive end missed all of 1999 with his knee injury. He did manage to return in 2000, and not only return, but become a first-team All-Pro. Now, that was effectively the end of the line for Johnson. He was retired by 2003 after two woeful seasons with the Packers.

In 1998, Hearst emerged as a star for the 49ers. He ran for 1,570 yards and seven touchdowns, and added 537 receiving yards as well. Then, in the divisional round of the playoffs, on the first play against the Falcons, Hearst suffered a brutal ankle injury. He missed two seasons. Two seasons! Hearst suffered Avascular Necrosis, the same condition that ended Bo Jackson’s career. However, he overcame Avascular Necrosis, never done before in NFL history, to run for 1,206 yards in 2001. A remarkable feat.

Maddox made history as the first (and only) MVP of the original XFL. He managed to use that success to return to the NFL, a league he had washed out of in 1995. Maddox was signed to back up Kordell Stewart, but had to step in and threw 20 touchdowns in 11 starts as the Steelers went 7-3-1 and made the playoffs. He got to be the full-on starter in 2002, but that was the end of the Maddox run in Pittsburgh for all intents and purposes. Hey, he is forever an XFL MVP and a Comeback Player of the Year.

This is a case where it is fair to ask, “Um, comeback from what, exactly?” Kitna hadn’t suffered an injury of note. He was in his third season starting for the Bengals after two seasons with the Seahawks. In 2003, he just was unexpectedly good, throwing for 3,591 yards and 26 touchdowns with 15 interceptions. The Bengals went 8-8, their first non-losing season since 1996, and maybe voters wanted to give Kitna credit for that somehow?

Now here, you may be thinking, “Of course! Brees suffered that shoulder injury that some thought would end his career, and then he became an all-time great.” Actually, this is before that. Brees won while playing for the Chargers in 2004. He came back from losing his starting gig to Doug Flutie in 2003 and the Chargers drafting Philip Rivers in 2004. Brees beat out Rivers and threw 27 touchdowns against even interceptions. He did not win Comeback Player of the Year post-injury, but he did win it. Also, two Offensive Player of the Year awards.

This is the only time this award has had co-winners. Smith, then a Panther, had gotten injured in the season opener in 2004 and missed the whole year. In 2005, he won the receiving triple crown i.e. led the NFL in catches, yards, and touchdowns. Bruschi only played in nine games in the 2005 season, but that was after he returned from having a stroke. Needless to say, both were impressive in their own ways.

Pennington was efficient, and he was often injured. That sums up his career. Pennington, the starting quarterback for the Jets, had not one, but two shoulder surgeries in 2005. He basically had to remake his throwing motion and had to win a four-way battle for the starting role. While he threw 16 picks against 17 touchdowns, Pennington made 16 starts and threw for 3,652 yards as the Jets went 10-6. Quite the comeback.

Ellis suffered a ruptured Achilles during the 2006 season, and that led to him starting the 2007 season banged up. The defensive end played in 13 games for the Cowboys, making 10 starts. He made up for lost time, though. Ellis picked up 12.5 sacks, a personal high, in making his only Pro Bowl appearance.

Yes, Pennington is a historical figure. He is, to date, the only two-time winner of Comeback Player of the Year. This time, though, it wasn’t about injury. Sure, Pennington got banged up a bit during the 2007 season, but what happened was that he struggled to keep his job over Kellen Clemens and got released after the season. Miami signed him, and Pennington won the starting role. He threw for over 3,600 yards with 19 touchdowns versus seven picks, and the Dolphins went 10-6. Pennington actually got MVP votes but had to settle for winning Comeback Player of the Year.

Obviously, this is the crowning achievement of Brady’s career. I’m sure we don’t need to tell you the story here. After his 50-touchdown season, Brady tore his knee up in the first game of the 2008 season. He returned in 2009 and threw for 4,398 yards, 28 touchdowns, and 13 picks. Brady would never miss time with injury again. Things were quite fine going forward.

Umm…well…Vick did finish second in OPOY and MVP voting. He had a great season for the Eagles. It was his first season as a starter since 2006. The thing is, Vick’s comeback was him coming back from missing two seasons while serving a prison sentence for his dog fighting ring. Is that what Comeback Player of the Year should be about?

After being the first overall pick in 2009, Stafford missed time with injury in both of his first two seasons. In fact, a shoulder issue limited Stafford to three games for the Lions in 2010. A woebegone franchise may have felt cursed. In 2011, Stafford returned with gusto. He didn’t just play 16 games, he threw for over 5,000 yards (still rare then) and 41 touchdowns. Also, he would become an iron man, making 16 starts eight years in a row.

Manning is the greatest player in Colts history, but as an older quarterback with a serious injury, the team decided to move on from him. Hey, he had missed the entire 2011 season after spinal fusion surgery. The Broncos took a shot on Peyton, hoping he would be able to still play. Oh, he could. Manning started all 16 games, the Broncos went 13-3, and he threw for 4,659 yards, 37 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions. The next year, he set NFL records for touchdowns and passing yards.

Rivers came up earlier when we were talking about Brees. Turns out, Rivers would also win Comeback Player of the Year. This one, honestly, makes no sense. Rivers was in the middle of a run of starting every game from 2006 through 2020. In 2012, Rivers was just…kind of mediocre? He wasn’t even that bad, and the Chargers went 7-9. The next year, Rivers led the NFL in completion percentage and threw 32 touchdowns against 11 interceptions. That was enough, evidently?

“Gronk” is considered one of the best tight ends ever, but he fell to the second round of the NFL Draft in part because he missed his entire junior season at Arizona with a back injury. During the 2013 offseason, Gronkowski dealt with an infection in his forearm and a back surgery. He managed to play during the season, but toward the end of the year he tore both his ACL and MCL. The future Hall of Famer managed to miss only one game in 2014. He had 1,124 yards and 12 touchdowns, both of which led all tight ends.

Berry is, to date, the only defensive back, and the last defensive player, to win Comeback Player of the Year. The safety was a three-time Pro Bowler when he was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Berry went through chemotherapy in the offseason and was able to head into the 2015 season cancer-free. He excelled on the field, fitting for a member of the NFL’s all-decade team for the 2010s. Berry was a first-team All-Pro in 2015, and would do that again in 2016.

For a good player, Nelson didn’t get a lot of award love. He only made one Pro Bowl, but he did win the 2016 Comeback Player of the Year award. Aaron Rodgers’ favorite receiver tore his ACL in the preseason and missed all of the 2015 campaign. In 2016, he would lead the NFL in receiving touchdowns with 14.

Allen has been a receptions machine for the Chargers, be it in San Diego or Los Angeles. He only had six catches in 2016, but to be fair, he only played one-half of football before tearing his ACL. Allen returned in 2017, the Chargers’ first back in LA, and had 102 catches for 1,393 yards. He made his first Pro Bowl, the first of five Pro Bowls in a row.

Luck was drafted first overall to replace Peyton Manning. Unfortunately, injury kept him from truly doing that. He missed the entire 2017 season with a shoulder injury. In 2018, Luck returned under center for the Colts to throw for 4,593 yards, 39 touchdowns, and 15 interceptions. Things seemed good again, but it was brief. Memorably, and surprisingly, Luck retired after the 2018 season. He was only 29.

Tannehill missed the entire 2017 season with a knee injury, but as you may have noticed, he didn’t win the 2018 Comeback Player of the Year award. No, what happened was that Tannehill was middling for the Dolphins in 2018 and they dealt him to the Titans. He started the season as a backup, but took over to start for 10 games. The quarterback completed 70.3 percent of his passes and led the NFL in QB rating. Thus, Tannehill is one of those “He was given up on” winners of this award.

Smith’s career started slowly, ominous for a first-overall pick. Then, he turned it around for the 49ers, and would become an above-average quarterback for the Chiefs. He signed with Washington in 2018, and became its starter. However, Smith suffered a deeply scary leg injury. Like, it was life-threatening. Walking again was going to be significant. Smith didn’t just recover, he returned to the NFL in 2020. Now, he only made six starts, and he threw more interceptions than touchdowns, but who cares? We’ll take a guy like Smith winning for overcoming so much over a Tannehill-style win any day.

After one of the best seasons for a college quarterback ever, Burrow was drafted first overall by the Bengals. He started slowly, but showed promise, until he suffered a knee injury. Burrow was able to return in 2021 and led the NFL in completion percentage and yards per attempt. Unfortunately, he’s also had issues staying healthy. Hopefully Burrow doesn’t follow in Pennington’s footsteps.

After two lackluster seasons starting for the Jets, Smith seemed destined to be a career-long backup. He had seven seasons wherein he didn’t start more than three games. Prior to the 2022 season, the Seahawks traded Russell Wilson and had Smith and Drew Lock battle for the starting gig. Smith won it, made all 17 starts, and threw for 4,282 yards and 30 touchdowns. Credit Smith for perseverance. These voters clearly did.

Flacco was out of the NFL. He was 38 and hadn’t been a regular starter since 2017. Flacco literally was not on a roster for most of the season, and then the Browns signed him to the practice squad in case he was needed after Deshaun Watson’s injury. Indeed, Flacco joined the team and ended up starting five games. The team went 4-1 and made the playoffs. Sure, it was only five games, but an all-but-retired QB returning to guide a team to the playoffs won Comeback Player of the Year.