NFL Comeback Player of the Year Award

The NFL Comeback Player of the Year Award is presented by the Professional Football Writers of America to the player in the National Football League (NFL) who shows perseverance in overcoming adversity, in the form of not being in the NFL the previous year, overcoming a severe injury, or simply a poor performance. Prior to 1992, the winner was selected by writers at Pro Football Weekly and since then it is done by polling all active sportswriters in the Professional Football Writers of America.

NOTES: Bold entries denote players who went on to become members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame; Year fields link to the NFL season in review page, winner's names link to the player's page and team name links to the official roster for the year in which the player won the NFL Comeback Player of the Year Award.

"Earl Morrall, I got to say a word about Earl Morrall. When Unitas went down, it was Earl Morrall. I was smart enough to bring him to Miami and when Bob Griese went down, it was Earl Morrall. The toughest decision that I've ever had to make as a coach was after Bob was hurt, Earl led us to the unbeaten season. We get into the Super Bowl, after Bob's healthy, he comes back and helps us beat Pittsburgh, in Pittsburgh. And then I had to make a decision, and I made the decision to start Bob Griese. I made the decision to start Bob Griese and Earl took it like the man that he is. And Earl, thank you for all of your contributions." - Hall of Fame Coach Don Shula in his Enshrinement Speech (07/26/1997, Link)

NFL Comeback Player of the Year Award Professional Football Writers of America NFL Comeback Player of the Year Award on Football Almanac
Year	Winner^(Quantity)	Position	Team / Roster^{(Franchise Quantity)}
1972	Earl Morrall⁽¹⁾	Quarterback	1972 Miami Dolphins⁽¹⁾
1973	Roman Gabriel⁽¹⁾	Quarterback	1973 Philadelphia Eagles⁽¹⁾
1974	Joe Namath⁽¹⁾	Quarterback	1974 New York Jets⁽¹⁾
1975	Dave Hampton⁽¹⁾	Fullback	1975 Atlanta Falcons⁽¹⁾
1976	Greg Landry⁽¹⁾	Quarterback	1976 Detroit Lions⁽¹⁾
1977	Craig Morton⁽¹⁾	Quarterback	1977 Denver Broncos⁽¹⁾
1978	John Riggins⁽¹⁾	Running Back	1978 Washington Redskins⁽¹⁾
1979	Larry Csonka⁽¹⁾	Running Back	1979 Miami Dolphins⁽²⁾
1980	Jim Plunkett⁽¹⁾	Quarterback	1980 Oakland Raiders⁽¹⁾
1981	Ken Anderson⁽¹⁾	Quarterback	1981 Cincinnati Bengals⁽¹⁾
1982	Lyle Alzado⁽¹⁾	Defensive End	1982 Los Angeles Raiders⁽²⁾
1983	Billy Johnson⁽¹⁾	Wide Receiver	1983 Atlanta Falcons⁽²⁾
1984	John Stallworth⁽¹⁾	Wide Receiver	1984 Pittsburgh Steelers⁽¹⁾
1985	No Selection^(x)	--	--
1986	Tommy Kramer⁽¹⁾	Quarterback	1986 Minnesota Vikings⁽¹⁾
1986	Joe Montana⁽¹⁾	Quarterback	1986 San Francisco 49ers⁽¹⁾
1987	Charles White⁽¹⁾	Running Back	1987 Los Angeles Rams⁽¹⁾
1988	Greg Bell⁽¹⁾	Running Back	1988 Los Angeles Rams⁽²⁾
1989	Ottis Anderson⁽¹⁾	Running Back	1989 New York Giants⁽¹⁾
1990	Barry Word⁽¹⁾	Running Back	1990 Kansas City Chiefs⁽¹⁾
1991	Jim McMahon⁽¹⁾	Quarterback	1991 Philadelphia Eagles⁽²⁾
1992	Randall Cunningham⁽¹⁾	Quarterback	1992 Philadelphia Eagles⁽³⁾
1993	Marcus Allen⁽¹⁾	Running Back	1993 Kansas City Chiefs⁽²⁾
1994	Dan Marino⁽¹⁾	Quarterback	1994 Miami Dolphins⁽³⁾
1995	Jim Harbaugh⁽¹⁾	Quarterback	1995 Indianapolis Colts⁽¹⁾
1996	Jerome Bettis⁽¹⁾	Running Back	1996 Pittsburgh Steelers⁽²⁾
1997	Robert Brooks⁽¹⁾	Wide Receiver	1997 Green Bay Packers⁽¹⁾
1998	Doug Flutie⁽¹⁾	Quarterback	1998 Buffalo Bills⁽¹⁾
1999	Bryant Young⁽¹⁾	Defensive Tackle	1999 San Francisco 49ers⁽¹⁾
2000	Joe Johnson⁽¹⁾	Defensive End	2000 New Orleans Saints⁽¹⁾
2001	Garrison Hearst⁽¹⁾	Running Back	2001 San Francisco 49ers⁽²⁾
2002	Tommy Maddox⁽¹⁾	Quarterback	2002 Pittsburgh Steelers⁽³⁾
2003	Jon Kitna⁽¹⁾	Quarterback	2003 Cincinnati Bengals⁽²⁾
2004	Drew Brees⁽¹⁾	Quarterback	2004 San Diego Chargers⁽¹⁾
2005	Tedy Bruschi⁽¹⁾	Linebacker	2005 New England Patriots⁽¹⁾
2005	Steve Smith⁽¹⁾	Wide Receiver	2005 Carolina Panthers⁽¹⁾
2006	Chad Pennington⁽¹⁾	Quarterback	2006 New York Jets⁽¹⁾
2007	Randy Moss⁽¹⁾	Wide Receiver	2007 New England Patriots⁽¹⁾
2008	Chad Pennington⁽²⁾	Quarterback	2008 Miami Dolphins⁽⁴⁾
2009	Tom Brady⁽¹⁾	Quarterback	2009 New England Patriots⁽²⁾
2010	Not Yet Announced^(01-2011)	--	--
Year	Winner^(Quantity)	Position	Team / Roster^{(Franchise Quantity)}
NFL Comeback Player of the Year Award on Football Almanac

Did you know that there have been one defensive tackle, one linebacker, two defensive ends, five wide receivers, ten running backs and twenty-one quarterbacks who have won the NFL Comeback Player of the Year Award?

Here on Football Almanac you can easily compare the winners of the Associated Press NFL Comeback Player of the Year Award to the winners of the Pro Football Writers of America NFL Comeback Player of the Year Award (seen above) and find where the differences between the two awards exist.

Which player on the chart above deserved the Professional Football Writers of America NFL Comeback Player of the Year Award the least? Which player "should" have won during that season? Share your opinion on Pigskin Fever.

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