MIRACLE MAN

Damar Hamlin is an Overwhelming Favorite to Capture Comeback Player of the Year

Months after he collapsed on the field and went into cardiac arrest during a Week 17 Monday Night Football game, Bills safety Damar Hamlin was cleared to return to football. And now, Hamlin, who became a household name during his recovery, is the favorite to win the 2023 Comeback Player of the Year award.

The previous five winners have all been quarterbacks, though not all comebacks were from injury.

Geno Smith won in 2022 for taking the Seahawks to the playoffs and earning a Pro Bowl nod after spending six years as a backup. The award went to Joe Burrow in 2021 after he led the Bengals to the postseason coming off an ACL tear that cut his rookie season short. Alex Smith won it in 2020 for his improbable return to football following a gruesome leg injury that caused him to miss all of 2019. Ryan Tannehill earned the hardware after he took over the Titans’ starting job midway through the 2019 season, led the team to the playoffs and made the Pro Bowl in the process. And Andrew Luck, who missed the entire 2017 campaign due to shoulder surgery, came back in 2018, brought the Colts back to the playoffs and took home the trophy.

After Hamlin, who’s an overwhelming favorite to earn the honor at -650, there’s an eight-way tie for the second-best odds at +2500 between Jaguars receiver Calvin Ridley, Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford, Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson, 49ers quarterback Trey Lance, Raiders quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson, free agent quarterback Carson Wentz and Rams receiver Cooper Kupp. Chargers receiver Keenan Allen, who won the award in 2017 for his comeback from an ACL tear, is tied for the 10th-best odds at +2800 with his teammate and fellow receiver Mike Williams.

Stafford, Lance, Garoppolo, Jackson, Kupp, Allen and Williams all fit the bill of injury-related comebacks — each player missed four or more games last season, and Lance played in just two games. Wilson’s case would have more to do with a return to form after his first year in Denver was the worst of his career. New Broncos head coach Sean Payton could help with that.

The situation for Wentz, who remains unsigned, is a bit of a combination of the two. He missed time due to a broken finger on his throwing hand but was also benched in Washington for Taylor Heinicke in the midst of a down year. He was subsequently released in February.

Ridley’s case is unique: He missed the entirety of the 2022 season due to a suspension for violating the league’s gambling policies. Ridley also stepped away from football in 2021 after five games with the Falcons to focus on his mental well-being. He was traded to the Jaguars in November while he was still suspended and was reinstated in March.

And then there’s Hamlin, the odds-on favorite. He made 13 starts in his second season for one of the better secondaries in the NFL. Just the fact that he’ll be on a field again is miraculous in its own right.

“This was a life-changing event, but it’s not the end of my story,” Hamlin said at a press conference in April. “I plan on making a comeback to the NFL.”

Hamlin could become the first defensive back — and first defensive player, period — to win Comeback Player of the Year since Eric Berry in 2015 after Berry’s return from Hodgkin’s lymphoma.