Joe Flacco Comeback Player of the Year Case: Why the Browns QB Could Shock the NFL

One of my favorite things to do is to find the most random lines on a sportsbook, just to see what crazy things are being offered to the public. While looking through the odds for comeback player of the year, a thought came to my mind.

“Has a player ever won comeback player of the year two times?” To my surprise, it has already happened twice, and very recently at that.

Joe Burrow took home the award twice in 2021 and 2024 after recovering from injuries. Then Chad Pennington took home the award in 2006 after recovering from shoulder surgery, and also in 2008 for reviving his career with the Miami Dolphins.

Both of these players are very likable guys, and overall have positive connotations with the media. That led me to the idea for a bet: what if Joe Flacco can win Comeback Player of the Year again?

It won’t be as easy this time around for Flacco. The competition in 2023 was pretty light, and the award is usually given out to a player if they’re able to bounce back from what could have been a career-altering injury. Flacco would just be winning the award again by not sucking at football anymore.

Going into the 2025 season, there’s a handful of big-name guys who will be the prohibitive favorites to take home the award.

Dak Prescott is +275 to win the award, and if a QB in the biggest football market in the country can put up a solid stat line, they’ll win the award. With targets like Ceedee Lamb and now George Pickens, the Cowboys' offense should score a lot of points. Their defense could be a massive issue, so a bad record could hold them back.

Aiden Hutchinson is tied with Prescott for the best odds as well, and he was so dominant before his injury, I’d be shocked if he didn’t come back and dominate again on what should be a good Detroit team.

Then there's the fan favorite Nick Chubb, looking to revitalize his career with the Texans. If he has a productive season, voters would be very inclined to give the running back some due credit as the Browns let him walk for basically free. He’s also the easiest guy to root for on this list.

Then there’s a whole list of injury-prone players, or QBs looking to bounce back that easily have cases to make with CMC (+300), Trevor Lawrence (+500), J.J. McCarthy (+950), and Daniel Jones (+2000).

There are a ton of narratives for this award, but the best possible unspoken narrative is Joe Flacco, coming back to Cleveland, and taking this team to the playoffs again. The defense is expected to bounce back this year and be in the top half of the league after a significant decline from one of the best to one of the worst in the course of just one year.

Nobody expects the Browns to be any good, so if Flacco can change that, why wouldn’t he be in line for the award? I think it’s crazy that he doesn’t even have odds to win this award. The Flacco revenge tour starts now.