Minnesota Vikings QB Sam Darnold snubbed for award he shouldn't have been eligible for

Sam Darnold finishes third in AP Comeback Player of the Year Award

It shouldn't be a surprise that Darnold was up for the award, as he had an incredible 2024 season.  However, Darnold wasn't originally supposed to be eligible for the award.

Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio reported that the AP would be accepting votes for Darnold, despite the rules changing to a player needing to return from an injury after Damar Hamlin lost the award last year to Joe Flacco.

The AP has confirmed that ballots containing the name of the Vikings starting quarterback will not be rejected.

We surmised last month that Darnold votes would be accepted. After re-reading earlier today the questions sent to the AP and the answers that were received, it wasn’t clear that votes for Darnold would be accepted.

Darnold's season was honored by the Pro Football Writers of America, as they named him the Most Improved Player in the 2024 season after signing a one-year, $10 million contract in March. Darnold was incredible for the Vikings, taking them to new heights and the NFL world by storm with his incredible performances week after week.

Darnold didn't just throw for 4,319 yards and 35 touchdowns, he became the first quarterback since Daunte Culpepper did so three times in 2004 to throw for five touchdowns and even entered the Most Valuable Player conversation during the season.

Darnold was on 15 of the 50 ballots with breakdowns below.