Associated Press NFL Comeback Player of the Year Award

AP NFL Comeback Player of the Year Award
	Joe Flacco, the most recent recipient
Awarded for	Comeback player of the year in the National Football League
Presented by	Associated Press
History
First award	1963; 1998
Most wins	Chad Pennington (2)
Most recent	Joe Flacco

The Associated Press NFL Comeback Player of the Year Award is presented annually by the Associated Press (AP) to a player in the National Football League (NFL). While the criteria for the award is imprecise,^[1] it is typically given to a player who overcomes the worst adversity to return to play even a single snap of NFL football, such as not playing the previous season, injury, or for playing well in comparison to the previous year's poor performance.^[2] The winner is selected by a nationwide panel of media personnel.^[3] Since 2011, the award has been presented at the NFL Honors ceremony held the day before the Super Bowl.

The AP first recognized an NFL comeback player of the year from 1963 to 1966, but these players are typically not included in overall lists of winners.^[4] The AP did not give the award again until the 1998 season. The only player to receive the award more than once, after the AFL–NFL merger,^[5] is quarterback Chad Pennington, who received it in 2006 with the New York Jets and in 2008 with the Miami Dolphins.

Chad Pennington is the only player to receive the award more than once.

^ Burke, Chris (November 7, 2016). "Why Melvin Gordon deserves to win NFL's Comeback Player of the Year award". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved March 20, 2017. This is a good spot for a reminder that the Comeback Player of the Year criteria is, well, not exactly precise.
^ "NFL Comeback Player of the Year Award". Football Almanac. Archived from the original on January 13, 2010. Retrieved March 20, 2017.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
^ "NFL Comeback Player of the Year". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Associated Press. February 1, 2014. Retrieved March 20, 2017.
^ Lee, Brenden; Gellerman, Jacob; King, Robert, eds. (2015). 2015 Official NFL Record and Fact Book (PDF). National Football League. p. 527. Retrieved August 1, 2016.
^ Rolfe, Ben (2021-02-07). "2020 NFL Comeback Player of the Year: Alex Smith, Washington Football Team". Pro Football Network. Retrieved 2021-02-20. Since the award's reinstatement in 1998, only Chad Pennington has won the award twice. However, the award was also briefly awarded by the Associated Press between 1963 and 1966. During that period, two awards were given each year. One for the NFL, and one for the AFL. During that time, RB Paul Lowe of the Chargers was also named Comeback Player of the Year twice (1963 and 1965).

[1] Burke, Chris (November 7, 2016). "Why Melvin Gordon deserves to win NFL's Comeback Player of the Year award". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved March 20, 2017. This is a good spot for a reminder that the Comeback Player of the Year criteria is, well, not exactly precise.

[2] "NFL Comeback Player of the Year Award". Football Almanac. Archived from the original on January 13, 2010. Retrieved March 20, 2017.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)

[3] "NFL Comeback Player of the Year". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Associated Press. February 1, 2014. Retrieved March 20, 2017.

[4] Lee, Brenden; Gellerman, Jacob; King, Robert, eds. (2015). 2015 Official NFL Record and Fact Book (PDF). National Football League. p. 527. Retrieved August 1, 2016.

[5] Rolfe, Ben (2021-02-07). "2020 NFL Comeback Player of the Year: Alex Smith, Washington Football Team". Pro Football Network. Retrieved 2021-02-20. Since the award's reinstatement in 1998, only Chad Pennington has won the award twice. However, the award was also briefly awarded by the Associated Press between 1963 and 1966. During that period, two awards were given each year. One for the NFL, and one for the AFL. During that time, RB Paul Lowe of the Chargers was also named Comeback Player of the Year twice (1963 and 1965).

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