Sam Darnold could still win Comeback Player of the Year. According to Pro Football Talk, the Associated Press won’t reject ballots with Darnold’s name on them.
It was believed going into the season that Darnold wouldn’t be eligible for the award because he wasn’t coming back from injury or other physical ailments. He spent the 2023 season backing up Brock Purdy in San Fransisco after flaming out with the Jets and Panthers. Coming back from underperforming on the field wouldn’t qualify.
Buzz about Darnold’s potentially winning the award began when he won the NFC’s Offensive Player of the Month. He was meeting the expectations of a starting NFL QB for the first time in his career.
In October, Rob Maaddi of the AP went to social media to clarify what attributes qualify a player for the award.
“[T]he spirit of the 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.”
But now it appears the AP won’t hold voters to those guidelines. They will expect voters to adhere to these standards but won’t reject ballots that stray from the “spirit of the award.”
It may not matter in the end. Joe Burrow would be an MVP frontrunner if the Bengals were a better team, but he has recovered from a wrist injury that prematurely ended his 2023 season. By definition, he would be the ideal candidate for the award.
Still, Darnold has been the league’s feel-good story of 2024. And it looks like he has a chance to win some hardware for his accomplishments this season.