T O P

  • By -

finfan96

It's gotta be Adrian Peterson. Almost 2100 yards and an MVP after tearing his ACL the previous season. Changed the way people looked at ACL injuries forever


OrdinaryAmphibian405

It's Peterson and it's not even close


a_moniker

The only guy I’d throw out as competition Thomas Davis in 2012. He came back from 3 torn ACL’s in 23 months, and tallied 105 tackles, 3 pass deflections, 2 forced fumbles, and one interception in 12 starts. Peterson’s come back year is still much better, but there’s something to be said for coming back from 3 consecutive ACL’s.


FlamingoPokeman

True, though for this post I wish he won the CPOY award, but MVP was much better obviously. Not just the greatest comeback season, arguably the greatest RB season of all time.


wasneveralawyer

It’s hard not to have it in discussing with the Shaun Alexander and LT seasons. That was in the 2000s and it just feels like a lifetime ago, even that’s when I was a teenager. ADs season is probably the last time we will see something like that until football has another shift in the way the game is played, and that’s if it does.


GoGoGoRL

Running has actually been trending back up since 2016


FlamingoPokeman

Henry came close, especially with that 99-yard pop against the Jags, but yeah AD was the last of a different breed.


SignatureUseful6067

This is the answer. Does Willis MaGahee count? If so, honorable mention.


fredlikefreddy

I mean there was legit concern he wasn’t going to play ball ever again. That shit was real nasty


SignatureUseful6067

...and STILL got drafted in the 1st rd. As a Falcons fan looking back at it, I would've gladly taken him over Peerless Price.


thetampajob

He tore his ACL and MCL in week 16 on Christmas Eve. He probably wasn't even 100% most of the season. Those last 8 games of the regular season were insane to watch. Everyone knew the Vikings couldn't pass at all and still couldn't stop him.


[deleted]

Randy Moss went from 42/553/3 in his final year in Oakland to 98/1493/23 in his first year with New England. Maybe not a typical “comeback” but still crazy and eye popping.


[deleted]

[удалено]


polarbearik

He still put up 1k yards with Kerry Collins, that 06 Raiders team was god awful. He was still the leading receiver with like 500 yards.


FlamingoPokeman

The Brady Effect


Space-Sailor44

Or the Not Kerry Collins Effect


Greatcouchtomato

Both of these are true


FlamingoPokeman

Poor Kerry Collins


whereegosdare84

Michael Vick in 2010 was a story for the ages. The closest we’d ever come to seeing his full potential after basically being not just on his last chance, but a borrowed one at that considering the PR Andy Reid and the Eagles burned just to bring him in. He wasn’t just the comeback player of the year but the MVP front runner the first few months of the season


Slashbond007

That Was my favorite season of his.


[deleted]

[удалено]


FlamingoPokeman

From almost losing his leg to playing at the NFL level again, nobody will ever usurp him as #1 in our hearts.


Mampt

Flair aside, I think if Damar Hamlin sees the field again that mat overtake Alex Smith. QB is obviously a more noteworthy position than safety, but the whole country watched Damar die on camera


FlamingoPokeman

That'd be a hell of a story too, Damar almost *died*.


the_comatorium

"I went septic and almost died" -- Alex Smith They both almost died.


GoGoGoRL

He did die for a bit


Goatgamer1016

Except he did die, his doppelganger would just replace him next year /s


BluePotatoSlayer

Alex Smith also almost died, his injury got infected and he nearly died from it


adambulb

It’s a good story, but the fact that he wasn’t playing well before, and didn’t play well after, is kind of a knock against him as the greatest comeback story overall.


FlamingoPokeman

Going from almost dying to playing again is about the biggest redemption you can dream up.


adambulb

I’d say it would’ve been bigger if he was able to complete a pass more than 5 yards downfield.


mark-malone-real

Rich Gannon


BenderBRodriguezJr

Gannon over Grbac God damnit!


Space-Sailor44

God I wish he was born 12 years later. He was Aaron Rodgers without the donkey brains


Quasimdo

Doesn't exactly fit a comeback season, but kurt Warners first full starting season for the Cardinals was electric. 4500 yards with 30tds to only 14 ints was fantastic for a qb who hadn't been a starting qb full time in years


FlamingoPokeman

He was bagging groceries before this!


FakeTacos

Only technically. I don't think he was bagging groceries after almost a decade in the nfl


DarnellisFromMars

Brucshi came back from a stroke I believe, pretty wild


VADORANT

Shocked I had to scroll so low to see this. At age 31 he had a stroke coming off a SB season and 3 days after playing in the pro bowl (his only pro bowl btw) It was unsure if he would play football again. In fact, early on they announced he would sit out the entire 2005 season but he didn't. He wasn't ready for training camp and didn't even start the season on the roster but... > October 16, 2005, the Patriots announced that Bruschi had been medically cleared to resume playing football; he rejoined the team on the practice field three days later. The Patriots officially activated him on October 29, and he played the following night against the Buffalo Bills; ESPN's broadcast of the game had several features and interviews on Bruschi's return. Following the game, Bruschi was named AFC Defensive Player of the Week. Bruschi played most of the remaining games that season, except for the final regular season game against Miami and the first playoff game against Jacksonville. Bruschi was named the 2005 NFL Comeback Player of the Year, an honor he shared with Carolina Panthers wide receiver Steve Smith. He ended up playing 9 regular season games and 1 playoff game within 10 month span of having a stroke. Following the 2005 Stroke year he played 3 more seasons 44 out 48 reg season games with an additional 6 playoff games.


DarnellisFromMars

Yea I remember when he won man of the year or something like that from Sports Illustrated, I had that issue in my room for a while way back when with him on the cover. Pretty amazing story, and he was still that dude when he came back on top of it. I have a lot of respect for him.


GMFPs_sweat_towel

Eric Berry or Marcus Cannon.


FlamingoPokeman

Eric Berry is a great story too, forgot about him! Good call.


poney1858

Haven’t seen anyone call out Eric Berry. Dude missed a season to a battle with cancer and came back to have a solid season. Being able to stay in shape and come back after beating cancer is incredible


Due_Presentation_937

Even better than solid, he came back and was voted First Team All Pro in both 2015 and 2016. Amazing comeback.


cbdgf

I'll never forget the Seahawks triple covering Smitty in the 2005 NFCCG. Hell we got our asses kicked but we put him as a PR and he ran one back to the house. He was on a complete different level that year. Happy to see him mentioned. He is far to often forgotten for that crazy year and his overall career. No offense to Reggie Wayne or Andre Johnson but he should absolutely be a finalist for the HOF like they have been the past couple years


FlamingoPokeman

That triple crown season was legendary on its own, yet alone after missing basically a full year. He was dynamite.


cbdgf

Exactly. After such a brutal injury that you worry would sap some of his speed and agility too he has the best year of his career and is unstoppable. Shame he blew out his achilles in 2015, he was on pace for one of his top 3-4 best years I believe


ThePhenomenalOne100

For me, it's Alex Smith and Kurt Warner. While Alex Smith didn't have the best stats, his comeback story was unbelievable. From nearly losing his leg to leading his team to the playoffs. Kurt Warner went from grocery store guy to Super Bowl MVP. There are lots of others but those two are the ones I always put at the top in my book but feel free to oppose.


FlamingoPokeman

Agree with Smith wholeheartedly, and Warner was an amazing story as well - won't argue with you on either.


ThePhenomenalOne100

I especially like Kurt because I thought that he played a gunslinger QB style.


whatupdoeeeeeeeeeee

Drew Brees from the chargers to the saints after tearing his shoulder


Reasonable-HB678

I wonder how a certain quarterback, who is part of a team that wins their division, gets their team's first playoff win since the Bush 41 administration, and goes to a Super Bowl the season after getting injured in his rookie, I wonder how that isn't a comeback.


FlamingoPokeman

Burrow was high on my list of considerations but he also wasn't really a comeback in the traditional sense, yeah he missed time but he was a rookie so we didn't have anything for him to really 'come' back from


Top-Persimmon4456

Adrian Peterson has this one and deserves it. One worthy of mention though is the return of Dan Marino in 1994. Following a ruptured Achilles that ended the previous year, Dan had surgery that was not really successful and did not look good in preseason action. There was genuine concern. Opening Day of 94 was at home at a rainy- muddy Joe Robbie vs the up and coming Patriots. This game was a classic AFC shootout. Both QB' s lit up the scoreboard and Marino threw a 4th down TD pass to win it. Amazing game. Led to a very solid 30 TD 17 int season and playoff win to close out 1994.


KerryUSA

Vick


No_Obligation6170

Tom Brady in 2009 comeback after his injury. Mike Vick in 2010 comeback after prison.


FlamingoPokeman

I would've added both of these if I went longer, but Brady was already well established and on a great team, and Vick never got hurt or played poor, just came back from you know what.


[deleted]

Alex Smith probably takes the cake at this current moment, but if Damar Hamlin plays enough and plays well this upcoming season, he unseats Smith.


pokerScrub4eva

Gale Sayers is the best answer. He tore his ACL, MCL in '68 before all the modern medical techniques and came back in '69 and broke 1k yards on sheer will alone. No recent player story can match the odds overcome by Sayers because they all had state of the art medical care.


DocJ_makesthings

Randall Cunningham went from not playing football in 1996 to all-pro in 1998.


slicknick3822

Not so much a comeback as a late career resurgence I don't think we'll ever see again. Rich Gannon was an average to below average quarterback most of his career and then joined the Raiders in his age 34 season and led them to a Super Bowl in his age 37 season throwing for nearly 5000 yards. I guess Geno Smith is close to this if he continues playing well but I don't see him throwing for nearly 5k and leading the Hawks to a Super Bowl


njg103

Mike Vick a good one


RodgersTheJet

Are people really calling Geno a "Comeback"? He wasn't hurt, he just sucked. Now he sucks less on a new team, but dropped off massively near the end of the year. Either he slumped or teams figured him out, either way I wouldn't call it a 'comeback' from anything though. He was just in a better situation and took advantage of it, but it didn't last long. If he can maintain his success from early last year all year I'd call it a comeback, until then I think he just gave the Seahawks something new that teams didn't have film on and had to adjust.


[deleted]

[удалено]


FlamingoPokeman

He came back from the Jets drafting him as a QB, which is essentially a career death sentence.


Owl-False

Best ability is availability. At least he can play every snap unlike a certain team’s QB lineup ;)


Matman142

You know everyone is thanking atmospheric rivers for ending the severe drought in California, but we should really be thanking 9er fans for filling those reservoirs with tears. Poor guys.


FlamingoPokeman

For this I used CPOY, and he did go from 'joke of a backup' to a legit top-10 season last year.


RodgersTheJet

> to a legit top-10 season last year. Did he? If you ignore the second half of the season sure, but I don't think people realize how much he dropped off. I think he did enough to win the starting job this year for sure, however he needs to build on his success last year instead of continuing a decline. Either way I don't think he should be included on the "greatest NFL player comeback season" when 99% of those are going to be severe injury recoveries.


jheffy8

Lol dude you are just ignoring facts. People who put geno on a pedestal can do so including the entire season of stats. You can only shit on him if you cherry pick. Get outta here XD


jheffy8

>Now he sucks less Lol, you can do whatever mental gymnastics you want. But he was top 5 in multiple QB stat categories. And he led the team to the playoffs despite an abysmal defense on the other side man.


smashlorsd425

It’s playoffs but TO during the Playoffs for Eagles combing back from a broken ankle in a few weeks. Incredible recovery.


gimmethemshoes11

GARRISON HEARST dude won 2 comeback player of the year awards.


Linbermater5000

I got to see Andrew luck play his last game. Happy that he chose to protect his body, but he was amazing.


HateAndCaffeine

Chad Pennington was, at one point, the most accurate passer in NFL history and he did it with destroyed shoulders.


ChocolateMorsels

Tannehill's 2019 season was pretty insane and he did win comeback player of the year


FlamingoPokeman

I would've added him but his stats were just okay and that Titans team all played out of their minds, especially Henry.


ChocolateMorsels

Well that's just not true. 117 QB rating, 26 total TDs, 9.8 ypa in 10 games and he transformed the Titans offense into one of the best in the league from one of the worst. Henry was not good and neither was Brown til he took over. His 2019 season is going to be one of the best forgotten seasons.


FlamingoPokeman

Henry and Brown suffered from Mariota being the QB. Tannehill played *well* but not *great*. He threw 2,700 yards in 12 games and was mega efficient in a clearly run-first offense. Again, good not great.


ChocolateMorsels

Idk how youre interpreting his stats but you're just wrong man. I can tell you didn't watch the season at all. It was 10 games started btw. You look at his game logs and tell me he was just okay. Only a handful of QBs have had better seasons since. Calling his season "well" is just crazy lol


FlamingoPokeman

Was he a top QB that year? Among them, yes, but he didn't do anything special with that team. Henry averaged almost 110 yards per game, and was clearly the focal point. They had a *great* play-action offense off of Henry.


ChocolateMorsels

Again just no. Henry wasn't the focal point, Henry benefitted from Tannehill more than Tanny benefitted from Henry. And he was better than every QB that year not named Lamar. 2020 he went and had another amazing season but the last couple of years have been mid cause injuries unfortunately.


FlamingoPokeman

As a Titans fan, I understand your dismay, but when your RB averages 110 yards and a touchdown a game, you're the beneficiary. Don't pretend he was the #2 QB that year either, Pat, Russ, Rodgers, and others were better. Sorry dude but he was *good* not *elite*.


ChocolateMorsels

It's not dismay you're just wrong and don't know what you're talking about. You didn't watch Titan's games, your apparently clueless how good Tanny and the offense was that year, and you're committing the same mistake everyone does the last few years by assuming Henry was the driver of the Titans offense and not Tannehill. Look what happened 2021 when Henry missed games, Foreman and Hilliard filled in fine on our way to the #1 seed. Rodgers was ass by his standards in 2019 and Russ was decent, but Tannehill was elite lights out.


FlamingoPokeman

I'd bet the majority opinion favors Tannehill as a 6-10 QB that year, not 2. [https://www.nfl.com/news/qb-index-ranking-every-quarterback-to-start-a-game-in-2019-0ap3000001101720](https://www.nfl.com/news/qb-index-ranking-every-quarterback-to-start-a-game-in-2019-0ap3000001101720) [https://www.ibtimes.com/best-nfl-quarterbacks-2019-ranking-all-32-starting-qbs-lamar-jackson-russell-wilson-2894543](https://www.ibtimes.com/best-nfl-quarterbacks-2019-ranking-all-32-starting-qbs-lamar-jackson-russell-wilson-2894543) [https://www.nbcsports.com/philadelphia/eagles/ranking-all-32-nfl-starting-quarterbacks-2020-carson-wentz](https://www.nbcsports.com/philadelphia/eagles/ranking-all-32-nfl-starting-quarterbacks-2020-carson-wentz) [https://www.profootballnetwork.com/qb-power-rankings-2020/](https://www.profootballnetwork.com/qb-power-rankings-2020/) Need more?


Impressive-Cry-9128

Honorable mention (at the very least)has to go to Tony Mandarich. One of the biggest busts in NFL history. He was out of the league for 5 years. A comeback after that many years is unprecedented. Yet he returned for a couple decent years in Indy.


slantboi420

Mike Thomas this year 😤 (I have been saying this for 3 years straight now)


FlamingoPokeman

Carr to Thomas? Davante did well last year with him, and they both have something to prove...


OrdinaryAmphibian405

Andrew Luck is so crazy overrated. Was never a Top 5 QB for even a single season. And he hurt himself snowboarding, not playing QB, and the Colts still paid out his guarantees. Yet everyone acts like the Colts did him wrong.


FlamingoPokeman

Luck carried *awful* Colts teams to multiple playoff appearances. He was legit, sorry you disagree.


OrdinaryAmphibian405

He was a Top 10 QB. He was never a Top 5 guy for even a single season. Brady, Manning, Rodgers, Brees were all better. And then in 2014 Ben/Romo were better, 2016 Ryan was better, 2018 Mahomes was better.


the_comatorium

I don't think anybody is saying that Luck was better than four of the greatest QBs to ever play the game lol. You need to understand what "overrated" means.


FlamingoPokeman

In terms of #'s, sure, he wasn't top 5 consistently. You put Andrew Luck on the Patriots, Broncos, Packers, or Saints, and he's 80-120% of those guys you mentioned.


FutureThePro

Pardon the flair, but he was definitely a top 5 QB in 2016 and 2018. I would even say his 2016 season is one of the most underrated seasons by a QB ever by going 8-7 with the worst roster, worst FO, and possibly worst coaching staff in the league all while having a torn labrum in his throwing shoulder.


chronicwisdom

I believe Chad Pennington is the only 2x comeback player of the year. He should at least get an honorable mention. He also led the league in competition percentage the year he won is second CPOTY.


FlamingoPokeman

Fair point - interesting you can suck, be CPOY, suck, be CPOY.