Comeback Player of the Year: Joe Flacco Endorses Bills' Damar Hamlin
This Cleveland Brown is conceding the comeback crown.
Many view the race for the NFL's next Comeback Player of the Year as a two-man show between Buffalo Bills defend/specialist Damar Hamlin and Browns quarterback Joe Flacco. Hamlin, of course, returned to the NFL after a scary cardiac arrest episode in the penultimate game of the prior regular season while Flacco took over the Browns' starting duties amidst injuries to their starters.
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If it were up to Flacco, however, there'd be no contest.
"I just think mentally to get yourself back to the point where you feel comfortable doing that kind of thing, obviously the physical part doesn't need any explanation, but the mental part, especially at his position, is pretty cool," Flacco told CBS Sports host Zack Gelb on Friday. "Anytime you're getting recognized in this league for playing well, it's flattering."
Some have argued that Flacco should garner greater consideration considering the fact he played an active role in the Browns' run to the AFC playoffs, just their third since the franchise's 1999 revival. Hamlin, on the other hand, appeared on only 17 defensive snaps in five regular season games, primarily working as a personal protector on punt formations (which included an attempt at a fake in last weekend's Divisional loss against Kansas City).
But Flacco firmly iterated that his struggle, returning at the age of 38, to save the Browns' season, paled in comparison to that of Hamlin's.
"It's a cool group to be a part of, that's for sure," Flacco said. "I'm just coming back from being old and not being on a team for a couple of months."
Despite his relatively muted prescience, Hamlin's recovery and return proved to be an inspiring story both on and off the field. Shortly after making his 2023 regular season debut in October, Hamlin said that he conquered his most vocal critic: himself.
“I think it was more so about promising to myself than anything else, just showing myself that I have the courage, I have the strength, that I have the pride, everything, all those words, in me to be able to go through something traumatic and to be able to come back from it,” Hamlin said after a 48-20 win over Miami, per John Wawrow of the Associated Press. “To be able to still do what I love at the highest level in the world is amazing.”
The Comeback Player of the Year will be one of the many honors bestowed at the upcoming NFL Honors on Feb. 8. Hamlin and Flacco are joined on the nominees' list by the latter's fellow quarterbacks Baker Mayfield (Tampa Bay), Matthew Stafford (LA Rams), and Tua Tagovailoa (Miami).
