Sam Darnold’s CPOTY Snub Is The Dumbest
Credit: Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images
Typically I don’t pay much attention to the NFL Honors, or any other award ceremony for that matter, but I was really looking forward to watching it this year. The Minnesota Vikings, who were only projected to win 6 games in 2024, massively exceeded expectations and went 14-3 in the regular season. Sam Darnold unexpectedly had a career year in Kevin O’Connell’s offense, and Brian Flores proved why he’s one of the best defensive coordinators in the NFL. Darnold, Flores, and O’Connell were all nominated for awards, with O’Connell winning NFL Coach of the Year.
That's our head coach, man 🥺
📺: #NFLHonors on @NFLonFOX | @NFLNetwork pic.twitter.com/z3BzfsWC2R
— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) February 7, 2025
What surprised me the most was the fact that Sam Darnold, who had the best odds of winning Comeback Player of the Year, was snubbed in favor of Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow. Burrow clearly didn’t care about the award, because for a player of his pedigree it’s just another random individual award that’ll collect dust in a display case. Burrow looked completely disinterested during his acceptance speech, stating: “I wouldn’t say this is necessarily an award you wanna be nominated for 2 times.” Heck, Burrow didn’t even care enough to pretend he was happy to receive the honor.
JB9.
Tune into #NFLHonors on FOX/NFLN pic.twitter.com/PQtJQAaUsU
— Cincinnati Bengals (@Bengals) February 7, 2025
I get it, the NFL wants the award to be about people coming back from injuries as opposed to players who revitalize their career out of a terrible situation. I, and, most think they’re wrong. Burrow winning Comeback Player of the Year goes against the spirit of the award, which is supposed to be about who had the biggest comeback. Nobody had a bigger comeback than Sam Darnold, who went from being a journeyman viewed as a lost cause, to throwing for over 4,000 yards for the first time in his NFL career. Darnold finished the year with 4,319 passing yards which ranked 5th amongst all quarterbacks in 2024, throwing for 35 touchdowns, and just 12 interceptions. Sam Darnold’s CPOTY snub is proof that the award is just a popularity contest.
No disrespect to Burrow, but everyone knows he’s a top 5 QB in the league. No one was questioning if he’d ever be the same player again. Burrow suffered a right calf strain in 2023 that kept him out early in the season, and a ruptured scapholunate ligament injury in his wrist in 2023 that kept him out for the season late. Neither of those injuries were potentially career-ending. Burrow also had an established floor as a top 10 QB at worst.
Although the Vikings fan in me wants to scream about how Sam Darnold was robbed, I would’ve been totally fine if J.K. Dobbins or Damar Hamlin won. All three of those guys had career years and drastically exceeded expectations in the face of adversity. Joe Burrow was just his usual self, and I don’t think the voters took that into account. I feel like winning the award would’ve been a lot more meaningful for a less established player like Darnold, Dobbins, or Hamlin.
Unfortunately, the NFL Comeback Player of the Year award has become a popularity contest, completely devoid of any meaning or substance. In 2025 Sam Darnold was snubbed in favor of Joe Burrow, and the year before that Damar Hamlin, who suffered cardiac arrest and nearly died on the field, was snubbed in favor of Joe Flacco. Joe Burrow’s nagging injuries were not a serious threat to end his prime, and Joe Flacco was a grizzled Super Bowl winning quarterback with experience in a multitude of offenses. Neither overcame as many obstacles as Hamlin or Darnold.
https:/twitter.com/RobMaaddi/status/1844732143731442083
The criteria for Comeback Player of the Year are so confusing, that the Associated Press doesn’t even know what the parameters should be. Initially, they issued guidance to voters before the season, instructing them that “the 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.”
I think the process of how voters determine the winner of this award is highly flawed, focusing too much on which well-established player had the best stats instead of who had the most compelling comeback story. We might as well just rename the award to “Most Popular Player to Return From A Minor Setback”. The fact that they just hand the award to the most marketable player who got hurt the year before by default, is proof that the Comeback Player of the Year award isn’t about who had the greatest comeback, instead it’s one giant popularity contest.
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