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. 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.https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/31289953/alex-smith-reigning-nfl-comeback-player-year-announces-retirement-footballhttps://www.cnbc.com/2019/08/26/nfls-andrew-luck-retiring-how-much-money-he-made-could-be-giving-up.html
|Year|Player|Position|Team|
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
|Jim Martin|Kicker|Baltimore Colts||
|Paul Lowe|rowspan="3"|Running back|San Diego Chargers|
|Lenny Moore|Baltimore Colts|||
|Abner Haynes|Kansas City Chiefs|||
|John Brodie|Quarterback|San Francisco 49ers||
|Paul Lowe (2)|rowspan="2"|Running back|San Diego Chargers|
|Dick Bass|Los Angeles Rams|||
|Babe Parilli|Quarterback|Boston Patriots||
|Doug Flutie|Quarterback|Buffalo Bills||
|Bryant Young|Defensive tackle|San Francisco 49ers||
|Joe Johnson|Defensive end|New Orleans Saints||
|Garrison Hearst|Running back|San Francisco 49ers||
|Tommy Maddox|rowspan="3"|Quarterback|Pittsburgh Steelers|
|Jon Kitna|Cincinnati Bengals|||
|Drew Brees|San Diego Chargers|||
|Tedy Bruschi|Linebacker|New England Patriots||
|Steve Smith Sr.|Wide receiver|Carolina Panthers||
|Chad Pennington|Quarterback|New York Jets||
|Greg Ellis|Defensive end|Dallas Cowboys||
|Chad Pennington (2)|rowspan="6"|Quarterback|Miami Dolphins|
|Tom Brady|New England Patriots|||
|Michael Vick|Philadelphia Eagles|||
|Matthew Stafford|Detroit Lions|||
|Peyton Manning|Denver Broncos|||
|Philip Rivers|San Diego Chargers|||
|Rob Gronkowski|Tight end|New England Patriots||
|Eric Berry|Safety|Kansas City Chiefs||
|Jordy Nelson|rowspan="2"|Wide receiver|Green Bay Packers|
|Keenan Allen|Los Angeles Chargers|||
|Andrew Luck|rowspan="5"|Quarterback|Indianapolis Colts|
|Ryan Tannehill|Tennessee Titans|||
|Alex Smith|Washington Football Team|||
|Joe Burrow|Cincinnati Bengals|||
|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.

|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||||
|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|rowspan="2"|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
- 1963 Ed Brown, QB, Pittsburgh Steelers
- 1964–1968 _No award given_
- 1969 Gale Sayers, RB, Chicago Bears

## _Sporting News_ NFL Comeback Player of the Year award

- 2008 — Antonio Bryant, WR, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- 2009 — Vince Young, QB, Tennessee Titans
- 2010 — Michael Vick, QB, Philadelphia Eagles
- 2011 — Plaxico Burress, WR, New York Jets
- 2012 — Adrian Peterson, RB, Minnesota Vikings
- 2013 — Darrelle Revis, CB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- 2014 — Rob Gronkowski, TE, New England Patriots
- 2015 — Carson Palmer, QB, Arizona Cardinals
- 2016 — Jordy Nelson, WR, Green Bay Packers
- 2017 — Keenan Allen, WR, Los Angeles Chargers
- 2018 — Andrew Luck, QB, Indianapolis Colts
- 2019 — Jimmy Garoppolo, QB, San Francisco 49ers
- 2020 — Alex Smith, QB, Washington Football Team
- 2021 — Joe Burrow, QB, Cincinnati Bengals
- 2022 — Geno Smith, QB, Seattle Seahawks

## References

- General

- Specific