AP NFL Comeback Player of the Year Award
Geno Smith, the most recent recipient
Awarded forComeback player of the year in the National Football League
Presented byAssociated Press
History
First award1963; 1998
Most winsChad Pennington (2)
Most recentGeno Smith

The Associated Press NFL Comeback Player of the Year Award is presented annually 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 adversity to return to a remarkable level of performance, such as from not playing the previous season, injury, or for playing well in comparison to the previous year's poor performance.[2] If a player can come back from such adversity or play at a high level over the previous year, they will usually be favored to win the award. 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 the day before the Super Bowl.

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.[4] The AP did not give the award again until the 1998 season. The only player to receive the award more than once, after the AFL–NFL merger,[5] is quarterback Chad Pennington, who received it in 2006 with the New York Jets and in 2008 with the Miami Dolphins.

Chad Pennington is the only player to receive the award more than once.

Winners

SeasonPlayerPositionTeamRef
1963 Jim Martin PlacekickerBaltimore Colts[6]
1964 Lenny Moore Halfback[7]
1965 John Brodie QuarterbackSan Francisco 49ers[8]
1966 Dick Bass FullbackLos Angeles Rams[9]
No award given between 1967 and 1997
1998 Doug Flutie QuarterbackBuffalo Bills[10]
1999 Bryant Young Defensive tackleSan Francisco 49ers[11]
2000 Joe Johnson Defensive endNew Orleans Saints[12]
2001 Garrison Hearst Running backSan Francisco 49ers[13]
2002 Tommy Maddox QuarterbackPittsburgh Steelers[14]
2003 Jon Kitna Cincinnati Bengals[15]
2004 Drew Brees San Diego Chargers[16]
2005 Steve Smith
Tedy Bruschi		 Wide receiver
Linebacker		Carolina Panthers
New England Patriots		[17]
2006 Chad Pennington QuarterbackNew York Jets[18]
2007 Greg Ellis Defensive endDallas Cowboys[19]
2008 Chad Pennington (2) QuarterbackMiami Dolphins[20]
2009 Tom Brady New England Patriots[21]
2010 Michael Vick Philadelphia Eagles[22]
2011 Matthew Stafford Detroit Lions[23]
2012 Peyton Manning Denver Broncos[24]
2013 Philip Rivers San Diego Chargers[25]
2014 Rob Gronkowski Tight endNew England Patriots[26]
2015 Eric Berry SafetyKansas City Chiefs[27]
2016 Jordy Nelson Wide receiverGreen Bay Packers[28]
2017 Keenan Allen Los Angeles Chargers[29]
2018 Andrew Luck QuarterbackIndianapolis Colts[30]
2019 Ryan Tannehill Tennessee Titans[31]
2020 Alex Smith Washington Football Team [32]
2021 Joe Burrow Cincinnati Bengals [33]
2022 Geno Smith Seattle Seahawks [34]

See also

References

General
  • Gellerman, Jacob; Drexler, Sam; Marini, Matt; Cocchiaro, Nicolas; Zerkel, Alex, eds. (2016). 2018 Official NFL Record and Fact Book (PDF). National Football League. p. 525. Retrieved August 14, 2018.
  • "AP Comeback Player of the Year Winners". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Sports Reference. Retrieved August 29, 2018.
Footnotes
  1. ↑ Burke, Chris (November 7, 2016). "Why Melvin Gordon deserves to win NFL's Comeback Player of the Year award". Sports Illustrated. 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.
  2. ↑ "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)
  3. ↑ "NFL Comeback Player of the Year". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Associated Press. February 1, 2014. Retrieved March 20, 2017.
  4. ↑ Lee, Brenden; Gellerman, Jacob; King, Robert, eds. (2015). 2015 Official NFL Record and Fact Book (PDF). National Football League. p. 527. Retrieved August 1, 2016.
  5. ↑ Rolfe, Ben (2021-02-07). "2020 NFL Comeback Player of the Year: Alex Smith, Washington Football Team". Pro Football Network. Retrieved 2021-02-20. 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).
  6. ↑ Bowen, George (December 14, 1963). "Jim Martin Comeback Player Of Year in National Grid Loop". The Montana Standard and The Butte Daily Post. Associated Press. p. 8. Retrieved March 11, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ↑ "Lenny Moore Comeback Of Year In NFL". The Evening Standard. Associated Press. December 12, 1964. p. 12. Retrieved March 20, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ↑ Stevenson, Jack (December 24, 1965). "49ers' John Brodie Voted Comeback Player of Year". The Salem News. Associated Press. p. 13. Retrieved March 20, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ↑ Jack Hand (December 16, 1966). "Bass Is NFL Comeback Player of Year in '66". The Marshfield (WI) News-Herald. Associated Press. p. 9. Retrieved May 3, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ↑ "Flutie wins inaugural comeback player honor". The Baltimore Sun. January 8, 1999. p. 3D. Archived from the original on September 18, 2016. Retrieved March 20, 2017.
  11. ↑ "Bryant Young is Comeback Player of Year". Chicago Tribune. Associated Press. January 7, 2000. p. 9. Archived from the original on September 18, 2016. Retrieved March 20, 2017.
  12. ↑ "Joe Johnson wins NFL's comeback honor". The Index-Journal. December 29, 2000. p. 15. Retrieved March 21, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ↑ Georgatos, Dennis (January 11, 2002). "Garrison Hearst wins Comeback Player of the Year award". San Jose Mercury News. Archived from the original on November 2, 2012. Retrieved March 21, 2017.
  14. ↑ Robinson, Alan (January 3, 2003). "Steelers' Tommy Maddox is NFL Comeback Player of Year". Tyrone Daily Herald. Associated Press. p. 5. Retrieved March 21, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ↑ Wilner, Barry (January 2, 2004). "Kitna edges Carter, Brown for AP Comeback Player honor". USA Today. Associated Press. Archived from the original on July 22, 2012. Retrieved March 21, 2017.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  16. ↑ "Chargers' Brees voted NFL Comeback Player of Year". Santa Cruz Sentinel. January 7, 2005. p. 36. Retrieved March 21, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. ↑ Curran, Tom E. (January 6, 2006). "Pats' Bruschi shares Comeback Player award". The Providence Journal. Archived from the original on June 4, 2011. Retrieved March 21, 2017.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  18. ↑ Wilner, Barry (January 4, 2007). "Comeback honors go to Pennington". Indiana Gazette. Associated Press. p. 14. Retrieved March 21, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
  19. ↑ "Cowboys LB Ellis comeback player of the year". The Denver Post. January 12, 2008. Retrieved March 21, 2017.
  20. ↑ Holder, Stephen F. (December 31, 2008). "Miami Dolphins QB Chad Pennington truly is comeback player of the year". St. Petersburg Times. Retrieved March 21, 2017.
  21. ↑ "Tom Brady Wins AP Comeback Player Award". CBS News. Associated Press. January 6, 2010. Retrieved March 21, 2017.
  22. ↑ "Michael Vick wins Comeback POY". ESPN. February 5, 2011. Retrieved March 21, 2017.
  23. ↑ "Lions QB Stafford wins Comeback Player of Year". Fox News. Associated Press. February 4, 2012. Retrieved March 21, 2017.
  24. ↑ Klis, Mike (February 2, 2013). "Broncos' Peyton Manning wins NFL award as comeback player of the year". The Denver Post. Retrieved March 21, 2017.
  25. ↑ Mello, Igor (February 1, 2014). "Philip Rivers wins Comeback Player of the Year award". CBS Sports. Retrieved March 21, 2017.
  26. ↑ "Gronk's garland: Patriots TE Gronkowski wins comeback player". USA Today. Associated Press. January 31, 2015. Retrieved March 21, 2017.
  27. ↑ Brinson, Will (February 7, 2016). "Eric Berry wins Comeback Player of the Year, delivers emotional speech". CBS Sports. Retrieved March 21, 2017.
  28. ↑ Cohen, Michael (February 4, 2017). "Jordy Nelson named NFL's Comeback Player of the Year". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved March 20, 2017.
  29. ↑ "Rams win Coach of the Year, player awards; Saints take rookie honors". ESPN.com. February 4, 2018. Retrieved February 4, 2018.
  30. ↑ "Andrew Luck named AP Comeback Player of the Year". NFL.com. February 2, 2019. Retrieved February 2, 2019.
  31. ↑ Grant Gordon (February 1, 2020). "Ryan Tannehill Named 2019 Comeback Player of Year". NFL.com. Retrieved February 1, 2020.
  32. ↑ Scott, Jelani (February 6, 2021). "Washington QB Alex Smith earns AP Comeback Player of the Year honors". NFL. Archived from the original on 2021-02-07. Retrieved February 6, 2021.
  33. ↑ Shook, Nick (February 10, 2022). "Bengals QB Joe Burrow named 2021 AP NFL Comeback Player of the Year". NFL. Archived from the original on 2022-02-11. Retrieved February 10, 2022.
  34. ↑ Condotta, Bob (February 9, 2023). "Geno Smith wins NFL Comeback Player of Year Award; Walker 2nd, Woolen 3rd for rookie honors". Seattle Times. Retrieved February 9, 2023.
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