Will Rams' Matthew Stafford Win Comeback Player of the Year?

Fortunately, a career-low year still means going to the playoffs, and there were many reasons for his lack of production. Puka Nacua, Cooper Kupp, Rob Havenstein, Alaric Jackson, Tyler Higbee, Jonah Jackson, and Steve Avila all missed multiple games last season and since all of them (outside of Havenstein) missed games in the beginning of the season, Stafford's arm suffered from fatigue towards the back end of the season.

Once Stafford got a week of rest, he was lighting up the opposition in the playoffs, and with a new group of weapons, Stafford is expected to go supernova in 2025.

However, NFL.com's Jeffri Chadiha believes that due to how he's been judged in the past, Indianapolis Colts quarterback Daniel Jones has the best shot to win Comeback Player of the Year, predicting Jones will indeed take home the honor.

"Jones already walked into a great opportunity in Indianapolis because the Colts gave him a chance to compete for the starting job with third-year veteran Anthony Richardson," wrote Chadiha. "There's every reason to believe Jones can win that battle because Richardson, since arriving in Indy as the fourth overall pick in the 2023 draft, has been wildly inconsistent throughout his career and even lost his job for a couple games last season. Jones knows a few things about that path -- the former No. 6 overall pick was benched and eventually dumped by the Giants last year -- but there's reason to be optimistic about him today."

"Jones signed with Minnesota after New York released hm, which gave him an opportunity to be around another beleaguered quarterback in Sam Darnold who was turning his career around with the help of a strong coaching staff. Now, Jones gets to work with a creative offensive head coach in Shane Steichen, who happens to be the same man who helped take Jalen Hurts from raw talent to MVP-caliber quarterback in Philadelphia."

"Steichen likes quarterbacks who can move, and his time with Hurts proved that he could think outside of the box when it comes to maximizing a signal-caller's strengths. Steichen easily could be the man to take Jones to another level, especially when considering the Colts have better skill players and offensive line play than Jones ever enjoyed in New York. Nobody saw Darnold taking off when he arrived in Minnesota. Jones could do similar things in Indy if he stays healthy."

While Jones would win the award if he ever learns to hit a receiver in his chest with the football, I'll make the argument that Stafford should be considered if he plays as expected. If Stafford can return to his 2021 form, we could see the Rams QB1 win Comeback Player of the Year and MVP.

For the first time in his entire career, he has a man-beater in Davante Adams and a zone-beater in Puka Nacua, while both players have the ability to perform if given each other's roles.

Stafford has healthy weapons again, and with the Rams having a new approach to red zone play calling, expect high scoring from Los Angeles this season.