Although Damar Hamlin, a safety with the Bills, rose from the dead, it was insufficient to win him the NFL’s comeback player of the year award.
The quarterback for the Browns, Joe Flacco, defeated Hamlin even though he had the most first-place votes. Out of the fifty people who put three options on their ballot, Flacco scored the highest overall.
Against Hamlin’s 21 first-place votes and 140 total points, Flacco had 13 votes in the top spot and 151 total points. Eight voters did not include Hamlin at all on their ballot.
In January 2023, Hamlin suffered a heart arrest while playing a game in Cincinnati. This season, he made a comeback to the field, but after playing just 17 defensive snaps and 94 special team snaps in five games, some voters did not include him at all on their ballots.
Because Flacco didn’t know what Hamlin was coming back from, he declared after the season that he would vote for him.
After a period of inactivity, the quarterback signed a contract with the Browns on November 20. As a starter, he was 4-1 and helped the team reach the postseason, tossing 1,616 yards with 13 touchdowns and 8 interceptions.
However, there is no definition for the comeback player of the year award, as each of the 50 selectors determines what a player is returning from.