Peter King: 'Absurd' Joe Flacco Voted over Damar Hamlin for NFL Comeback Player Award

Cleveland Browns quarterback Joe Flacco narrowly defeated Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin for the Associated Press' Comeback Player of the Year award last Thursday.

On Monday, Peter King of NBC Sports called that result "absurd" in the latest edition of his Football Morning in America column.

"It's ridiculous that Joe Flacco, who came back from sitting on his couch for two-and-a-half months, won Comeback Player over Damar Hamlin, who came back from having to be resuscitated back to life on a football field last January. What's stronger than ridiculous? Absurd? Okay. It was absurd."

Hamlin suffered cardiac arrest during a Bills at Cincinnati Bengals game on Jan. 2, 2023 and nearly died. Remarkably, he returned to the field in 2023 for seven appearances (including playoffs). While he was largely inactive and played sparingly when he did suit up (mostly on special teams), the fact that he was even out there was an incredible comeback in itself.

Flacco authored a great comeback in his own right. The 16-year NFL veteran, who hasn't been a team's full-time starter for an entire season since 2017, was at home for most of the year until the Browns added him to the practice squad on Nov. 20 with a combination of injuries and ineffectiveness affecting the team at the position.

Flacco took hold of the QB1 spot in December, however, and led the team to a 4-1 record in his regular season starts. During that span, he threw for 13 touchdowns and 323.2 yards per game. Thanks to his efforts, the Browns made the playoffs for just the third time this century.

One can make a case for either player, and it's clear voters were very split on the matter. Per Rob Maaddi of the Associated Press, Hamlin actually got the most first-place votes (21), but Flacco earned the most points, primarily because he racked up more than half (26) of the available second-place votes.

What's most puzzling, though, is that eight voters left Hamlin out of their top three entirely, to which King said: "I simply do not understand."

Perhaps that has something to do with Hamlin being a part-time special teams player this year, but that also ignores the arduous journey he traversed just to get to this point.

At any rate, Flacco is the NFL's Comeback Player of the Year, and Hamlin finished second. Both made incredible comebacks this season, albeit in very different fashions.

Credit goes to third-place winner Baker Mayfield as well, the former No. 1 overall pick who went from castoff in 2022 following his release from the Carolina Panthers to superstar in 2023 en route to leading the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to the NFC South title thanks to 28 touchdown passes.