Sam Darnold is ineligible for NFL's Comeback Player of the Year award

The new guidelines mean Darnold can't win the award even though he's clearly making an incredible comeback with the Vikings.

Oct 6, 2024; Tottenham, ENG; Minnesota Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold (14) after the 17-23 win against New York Jets at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Shaun Brooks-Imagn Images / Shaun Brooks-Imagn Images

Sam Darnold is arguably the best individual story going in the NFL right now, but one thing going against him is a recent change that disqualifies him from winning the NFL Comeback Player of Year award.

“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,” the AP announced in June.

Darnold isn't coming back from illness, injury or anything that prevented him from playing. He was simply the No. 2 quarterback behind Brock Purdy in San Francisco last season.

The award was previously without guidelines, leaving the door open for any player who had a terrific season after a miserable season to qualify. That's too bad because Darnold, who is tied for second in the NFL with 11 touchdown passes for the 5-0 Vikings, would've had a chance to become the first Minnesota player to win the award.

Randall Cunningham should've won the award in 1998 after he led the Vikings to a 15-1 record, but Doug Flutie, despite his numbers paling in comparison to Cunningham, was given the award. Flutie had played the previous Canadian Football League whereas Cunningham was out of the NFL in 1996 and attempted only 88 passes in 1997 with the Vikings.

Cunningham hooked up with the likes of Randy Moss, Cris Carter and Jake Reed for 34 touchdowns en route the '98 Vikings becoming the highest-scoring team in NFL history at the time. He finished runner-up in both the MVP and the Comeback Player of the Year votes.