Joe Flacco earned the hardware for his late-season performance.
The Browns quarterback was named the AP Comeback Player of the Year at the NFL Honors Awards in Las Vegas on Thursday, beating second-place finisher Damar Hamlin for the award.
Flacco led the way with 151 total points. However, he received fewer first-place votes (13) than Hamlin (21).
“I would like to congratulate the other nominees and winners here tonight, such a special group,” Flacco said in his acceptance speech. “It’s an honor to be here and enjoy it with all of you. I want to thank the city of Cleveland and everyone in Cleveland from the bottom of my heart. I want to thank my teammates for welcoming me into the locker room at this time of year.
“Welcoming new players is not easy.”
Flacco was unsigned for most of the season, but expressed interest and desire to continue his career by saying in September that he was “still able to play.”
The 39-year-old took a chance, signing with the Browns in November after the team suffered a number of injuries at quarterback, including starter Deshaun Watson.
He went 4-1 and threw for 13 touchdowns and 1,616 yards to lead the Browns to the playoffs.
Although it was a small sample, it had an impact worthy of the award.
Mr. Hamlin, Winner of Pro Football Writers of America Edition The Most Valuable Player went into cardiac arrest and had to be resuscitated during a game against the Bengals on January 2, 2023, but returned to the field and appeared in five regular season games and two more in the playoffs.
At the end of January, Flacco said he supported Hamlin winning the AP Award.
“Sure” Flacco Reply to Zach Gelb of CBS Sports Radio When asked if Hamlin should win. “I don’t know how many snaps he took. But mentally, I think it’s pretty great to get yourself back to a point where you feel comfortable doing things like that.”
“I don’t necessarily know what I came back from,” Flacco added in the interview. “I think that’s probably my first reaction because most of the players on the list don’t know what they’re coming back from.”
Hamlin spoke to reporters yesterday and described his journey after a near-death experience just over a year ago.
“Just to give you guys a little bit more perspective, I just want to say, trust what you know, trust what you came here for,” Hamlin said. . “During our journey of ups and downs, I have my stuff, he has his stuff, we protect each other and hold each other accountable for what brought us there in that moment. I was able to.”
