The NFL’s Comeback Player of the Year race will look different going forward after The Associated Press moved to tighten and clarify what the award is meant to recognize. While the honor has long existed to celebrate players who bounce back, recent winners sparked debate about whether simply rebounding from poor play should qualify.
With the NFL Honors show set to unveil this season’s awards, including MVP and Comeback Player of the Year, AP voters now have firmer guidance on which types of “comebacks” the award is supposed to spotlight.
Criteria For Comeback Player of the Year Award
The Associated Press, which administers the major NFL awards voted on by a nationwide panel of 50 media members, issued a clarification in June 2024 to remove some of the gray area around the Comeback Player of the Year award.
AP senior NFL writer Rob Maaddi, who oversees All-Pro and awards voting, said the change is meant to keep the focus on players overcoming adversity tied to health or absence from the field.
“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,” Maaddi explained in guidance sent to voters.
The AP is looking to avoid the award going to a player who simply followed a down year with a strong season without a clear injury, illness, or similar setback.
That clarification followed controversy around some recent winners. Seattle Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith won the 2022 award after stepping in as a starter and playing at a high level, but his “comeback” primarily involved going from backup to starter rather than returning from a major injury.
In 2023, Cleveland Browns quarterback Joe Flacco captured the award over Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin. Flacco signed late in the season and led Cleveland to the playoffs with a 4-1 record, while Hamlin returned to play five games after suffering an on-field cardiac arrest the previous year.
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Going forward, the AP guidance emphasizes that examples such as Aaron Rodgers, Joe Burrow, Kirk Cousins, Anthony Richardson, or Nick Chubb, players coming back from significant injuries that caused missed time, fit the intended spirit of the award.
By contrast, a player like Russell Wilson, who was benched and then landed another starting job without an injury component, is now viewed as less aligned with what the Comeback Player of the Year is supposed to honor.
Could Drake Maye Win the Comeback Player Of the Year Award?
Within the clarified framework, Comeback Player of the Year still sits alongside the league’s other top honors as part of NFL Honors week. A nationwide panel of 50 media members who regularly cover the league votes on eight AP awards, including MVP, Offensive Player of the Year, and Comeback Player of the Year.
Voters select a top five for each category before the playoffs, with first-place votes worth 10 points and second through fifth worth 5, 3, 2, and 1 points.
For the 2025 season, the AP listed Christian McCaffrey, Josh Allen, Trevor Lawrence, Drake Maye, and Matthew Stafford as finalists for NFL Most Valuable Player. McCaffrey and Maye are also finalists for Offensive Player of the Year, while McCaffrey and Lawrence are among the finalists for Comeback Player of the Year.
Under the AP’s clarified guidance, the Comeback finalists are players who returned from injury or missed time, rather than those who simply elevated their play after a slump.
It is unlikely Maye wins the Comeback Player of the Year Award. Instead, his candidacy for MVP and Offensive Player of the Year this cycle is tied to his comeback, with his profile more indirect.
Any discussion of Maye and Comeback Player of the Year is therefore tied to the broader context of how the award is now being defined, rather than to an official nomination for this season’s comeback honor.
Under the AP’s tightened criteria, a future Comeback Player of the Year case for Maye would likely depend on him missing time because of injury, illness, or comparable circumstances in one season and then returning to high-level play in the following year.
For now, though, the official AP materials identify him as a finalist in MVP and Offensive Player of the Year discussions, while Comeback Player of the Year is reserved for players whose resumes clearly match the newly emphasized requirements.
