Sam Darnold Could Win CPOY After All
The Associated Press put out stipulations that altered the criteria for Comeback Player of the Year. Joe Flacco won in 2023 for leaving his couch. A more deserving result was the desire. The Minnesota Vikings Sam Darnold might challenge that.
Insider says Minnesota Vikings Darnold will be considered
The intention of the new rules for NFL Comeback Player of the Year was to highlight someone who had overcome physical setbacks. The language around the change was clear on that.
“The spirit of the AP Comeback Player of the Year 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.”
AP clarification for CPOY award (CBS Sports)
Sam Darnold is not overcoming any sort of injury or physical illness, but it’s hard to argue that he hasn’t overcome long odds to be great with the Vikings. Insider Mike Florio is now reporting that votes cast for him will count.
“If any of the 50 voters send in a comeback player of the year ballot with Sam Darnold’s name on it, it won’t be thrown back. The AP has confirmed that ballots containing the name of the Vikings starting quarterback will not be rejected.”
Mike Florio confirms Sam Darnold will be eligible for CPOY (Pro Football Talk)
The Associated Press wants voters to follow their newly outlined criteria, but that would overlook someone like Darnold who should be worthy. It’s not like Flacco hadn’t had previous success, or that he overcame anything but aging and sitting out.
DARNOLD JETTAS 52-YARD TD 🚨
— NFL (@NFL) December 8, 2024
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Darnold’s best season came in 2019 during his second year with the Jets. This season he has thrown for over 4,100 yards and has 35 touchdowns with just 12 interceptions. The Vikings have 14 wins and are in play for the top seed in the NFC.
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FanDuel currently has Joe Burrow as the favorite (-220) with Darnold second (+130). DraftKings has the same configuration but Burrow at -200 and Darnold at +175. The Bengals quarterback played just 10 games last year due to injury and should realistically be in the MVP conversation for 2024. His case follows the new criteria much more.
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Darnold has a legitimate case and there’s now nothing stopping him from winning. It remains to be seen how many votes he will garner, but we will find out on February 6.
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