Coming into the 2023 season, many people thought Damar Hamlin was a lock to win NFL Comeback Player of the Year. And yet, when the dust settled, it was Joe Flacco who won the award.
Hamlin suffered a cardiac arrest on Jan. 2, 2023 in a game between the Buffalo Bills and Cincinnati Bengals. He made his return on Aug. 12.
Flacco, on the other, didn’t overcome an injury. The former Super Bowl MVP did, however, go from being an afterthought to a productive quarterback.
While there’s no denying that Flacco had quite the turnaround, the NFL plans on enforcing its criteria for Comeback Player of the Year.
Associated Press senior NFL writer Rob Maaddi said voters will be told, “The spirit of the AP Comeback Player of the Year Award is to honor a player who has demonstrated resilience in the face of adversity by overcoming illness, physical injury or other circumstances that led him to miss playing time the previous season.”
Once this news was announced, NFL fans agreed that Hamlin should’ve received the award for last season.
“Damar Hamlin played about 1/3 of Flacco snaps. Which again, is much harder after dying then being bad at football,” one fan commented.
“Man I still can’t believe that Damar Hamlin literally died and was revived on a football field and came back to play next season, and they still gave Comeback Player of the Year to Joe Flacco because he’s old and washed,” another fan said. “So stupid.”
“I still can’t believe Damar Hamlin didn’t win CBPOY,” a third fan wrote.
Hamlin’s story is far from over. The former Pitt defensive back could very well make an impact for the Bills this fall.
As for Flacco, he’s on track to be the backup quarterback for the Indianapolis Colts.
Related: The Voting Criteria For NFL Comeback Player Of The Year Has Been Clarified