Watch: Joe Flacco makes hilarious case for Damar Hamlin to win 2023 Comeback Player of the Year
Joe Flacco turned back time this year when he joined the Cleveland Browns, going 4-1 with 1,616 yards and 13 touchdowns in five regular season starts after a slew of injuries to other browns signal callers.
The performance helped Cleveland return to the postseason and landed Flacco on the list of finalists for 2023 NFL Comeback Player of the Year along with Tampa Bay QB Baker Mayfield, Rams QB Matthew Stafford, Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa and Bills safety Damar Hamlin.
But when he joined the "Zach Gelb Show," on CBS Radio on Friday, and revealed who he thinks should win the award.
"I don't necessarily know what I'm coming back from, and that's for most of the guys on that list," Flacco joked with Gelb.
"It's flattering and a cool group to be a part of, but I'm coming back from what? Being old and not being on a team for a couple of months? I think most of the guys on that list besides Damar, I'm not sure we're really coming back from anything."
When Gelb asked if he thought Hamlin should win the award, Flacco was quick to endorse the third-year Pitt product who collapsed on the field in a game last January between Buffalo and Cincinnati.
"For sure. I don't know how many snaps he played, but I just think mentally to get yourself back to the point where you feel comfortable doing that kind of thing — especially at his position — is pretty cool."
Some will argue that Hamlin shouldn't win the award because of his lack of playing time this year, but Flacco has the right idea.
The Comeback Player of the Year Award shouldn't just be about who improved the most from one year to another, but who had to overcome the most adversity to do so.
Mayfield had to come back from his stint with the Carolina Panthers, which seems to be a harrowing experience for any QB since Cam Newton but shouldn't win him the award. Stafford dealt with injuries last season, but nothing to the extent of Hamlin's cardiac arrest on "Monday Night Football," or the repeated head injuries Tagovailoa experienced.
If Hamlin doesn't win it should probably go to Tagovailoa, but the award was likely Hamlin's the moment he returned this season.
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