Joe Flacco Throws Support Behind Damar Hamlin for Comeback Player of the Year

The Browns quarterback is a finalist himself but believes another player is more deserving.

In any normal year, Cleveland Browns quarterback Joe Flacco would be an ideal candidate for the NFL's Comeback Player of the Year award. 

Seemingly out of nowhere, the veteran picked himself up off the couch and played some of the best football of his career. In just five games, he threw 13 touchdowns against eight interceptions to shepherd an injury-riddled Browns team to the postseason.

However, Flacco will likely not win because the presence of Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin—whose return from a harrowing, nationally televised entrance into cardiac arrest last January inspired the sports world—among the finalists.

Flacco recently told Zach Gelb of CBS Sports Radio that he is perfectly fine with that.

"I don't necessarily know what I'm coming back from," the quarterback told Gelb. "I would say most of the guys on that list I'm not sure what we're coming back from, so that's probably my initial reaction."

"I'm just coming back from being old and not being on a team for a couple months."-@JoeFlacco

Joe Flacco says Damar Hamlin should win Comeback Player of the Year. @CBSSportsRadio @HamlinIsland pic.twitter.com/agmBivvBN5

— Zach Gelb (@ZachGelb) January 26, 2024

Flacco, Hamlin, Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield, Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford and Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa are the finalists for the award.

"I'm just coming back from being old and from not being on a team for a couple months," Flacco said.

When Gelb asked Flacco whether Hamlin would win the award, the Super Bowl XLVII champion was adamant.

"For sure," he said. "I don't know how many snaps he played. I just think mentally, to get yourself back to the point where you feel comfortable doing that kind of thing ... is pretty cool."