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)[change | change source]
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]
PFW/PFWA Comeback Player of the Year award (1972–present)[change | change source]
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]
UPI Comeback Player of the Year award (1962–1969)[change | change source]
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[change | change source]
- 2008 — Antonio Bryant, WR, Tampa Bay Buccaneers[5]
- 2009 — Vince Young, QB, Tennessee Titans[6]
- 2010 — Michael Vick, QB, Philadelphia Eagles[7]
- 2011 — Plaxico Burress, WR, New York Jets[8]
- 2012 — Adrian Peterson, RB, Minnesota Vikings[9]
- 2013 — Darrelle Revis, CB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers[10]
- 2014 — Rob Gronkowski, TE, New England Patriots[11]
- 2015 — Carson Palmer, QB, Arizona Cardinals[12]
- 2016 — Jordy Nelson, WR, Green Bay Packers[13]
- 2017 — Keenan Allen, WR, Los Angeles Chargers[14]
- 2018 — Andrew Luck, QB, Indianapolis Colts[15]
- 2019 — Jimmy Garoppolo, QB, San Francisco 49ers[16]
- 2020 — Alex Smith, QB, Washington Football Team[17]
- 2021 — Joe Burrow, QB, Cincinnati Bengals[18]
- 2022 — Geno Smith, QB, Seattle Seahawks
References[change | change source]
- General
- "Comeback Player of the Year". Pro Football Writers of America. Retrieved January 17, 2014.
- Specific
- ↑ "NFL Comeback Player of the Year Award". Football Almanac. Archived from the original on January 13, 2010. Retrieved December 19, 2012.
- ↑ "Comeback Player of the Year". Pro Football Writers Association. Retrieved February 19, 2014.
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ United Press International. (12-21-1963).Steelers' Brown Comeback Winner Lodi News-Sentinel. Retrieved 12-20-2009.
- ↑ Sporting News. (January 15, 2009). SN's Comeback Player of the Year: Antonio Bryant[permanent dead link] Sporting News Retrieved 12-20-2009.
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ "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.
- ↑ "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.
- ↑ "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.
- ↑ 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]
- ↑ 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]
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ Marvez, Alex (January 24, 2017). "Packers' Jordy Nelson voted Sporting News Comeback Player of the Year for 2016". Sporting News. Retrieved February 7, 2021.
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ Haislop, Tadd (January 9, 2019). "NFL awards: Resurgent 49ers dominate voting for Sporting News' 2019 honors". Sporting News. Retrieved February 7, 2021.
- ↑ Cadeaux, Ethan (January 21, 2021). "Alex Smith named NFL Comeback Player of the Year by Sporting News". NBC Sports. Retrieved February 7, 2021.
- ↑ "NFL awards: Cowboys, Bengals break through in voting for Sporting News' 2021 honors". www.sportingnews.com. Retrieved February 3, 2022.