GOOD NEWS: A Browns icon backs the Comeback Player of the Year nominee…
On the most recent episode of Bleav’s ‘Dawg Check’ show, former offensive weapon and kick returner Eric Metcalf of the Cleveland Browns stated that Joe Flacco, the quarterback for the Cleveland Browns, should have won Associated Press Comeback Player of the Year instead of Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin.
According to Eva Geitheim of Fan Nation’s Bleav website, Metcalf said, “Joe Flacco, I mean, he was just, you know, he was at home playing Monopoly with his kids and everything.” “So when you speak about him getting off the couch and getting this team to the playoffs, what you’re talking about are the stats he had while playing the games. It wasn’t like he was just tossing it six or seven yards and players were breaking for 78 yards; instead, he was chucking it down the field. He was tossing it to the people across the pitch. And the guys were quite upset that he was named Comeback Player of the Year.”
Up until the beginning of November, Flacco was an unsigned free agent. Cleveland lost starting quarterback Deshaun Watson to a shoulder injury that ended his season. Then, in order to lead the Browns to an 11-6 record and a postseason appearance, the Super Bowl XLVII Most Valuable Player turned the clock back by winning four of five starts. During his brief time in Cleveland, the 39-year-old completed 123 of 204 regular-season passes (60.3%) for 1,616 yards, 13 touchdowns, and 8 interceptions.
If Flacco had finished the regular season among qualified players, he would have topped the NFL in passing yards per game (average of 323.2), according to ESPN figures.
In contrast, during his five regular-season and two postseason outings with the 2023 Bills, Hamlin turned in somewhat forgettable results. Even so, after rejoining Buffalo’s active roster less than eight months after suffering a heart arrest during a “Monday Night Football” game in January 2023, he was mostly considered the favourite to earn Comeback Player of the Year.
Hamlin was chosen as the campaign’s Comeback Player of the Year by the Pro Football Writers of America.
In the AP voting, Flacco garnered 13 votes for first place and 151 total points, while Hamlin secured 21 votes for first place and 140 total points. It’s interesting to note that Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, who was worried about suffering several concussions during the 2022 season, contemplated retirement over the offseason before winning Sporting News Comeback Player of the Year.
In other words, as recently as early January, many people thought that Hamlin was a lock to win CPOTY. However, this wasn’t the case.
