NFL's Best Comeback Player Stories of 2015 so Far

With all due respect to the great LL Cool J, we will call it a comeback.

Injuries are a part of life in professional sports and especially the game of football. A number of veteran players who are coming off an injury-shortened 2014 season have played well so far, including Pittsburgh Steelers running back DeAngelo Williams and St. Louis Rams defensive end Chris Long.

Here, we have chosen seven individuals who are not only off to decent starts but could challenge for NFL Comeback Player of the Year honors, an award won in 2014 by New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski.

And as you will see, one of our candidates missed significant time last season, and it had nothing to do with an injury.

For the most part, all seven have made us marvel at their performances this season to date. And opposed to a year ago, let’s hope none of these players is on a similar list in the future.

QB Carson Palmer, Arizona Cardinals

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It’s just three weeks into the season, but so far so good for the Arizona Cardinals.

We’re not referring to the fact that the team is a perfect 3-0. The Cardinals managed to accomplish that a year ago en route to a playoff appearance.

It’s having quarterback Carson Palmer upright and intact that is the story here. A year ago, he led the team to a Week 1 win over the San Diego Chargers and then missed the next three games. After returning and leading the club to five straight victories, he suffered a torn ACL in the midst of the last of those wins and was lost for the remainder of the season.

Palmer played and “won” six games last season, throwing for 11 scores and only three interceptions. During Arizona’s perfect start, he’s completed 56 of 88 passes for 803 yards and nine touchdowns while being picked off just twice. The Arizona offense has scored 13 of the club’s 17 touchdowns, and the Cardinals lead the NFL in points scored per game.

Head coach Bruce Arians knows a little something about awards. So long as he remains healthy, Palmer will be in the running for some comeback honors as well by season’s end.

OLB Sean Lee, Dallas Cowboys

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The combination of a year away from football as well as a change of position has apparently agreed with Dallas Cowboys linebacker Sean Lee.

Make that Dallas Cowboys outside linebacker Sean Lee.

Granted, defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli’s unit was humbled a bit last Sunday in a 39-28 home loss to the Atlanta Falcons. The Cowboys allowed 438 total yards (259 yards in the second half) and squandered a 14-0 first-quarter lead in the game. 

Still, you have to be impressed to date with the play of the oft-injured Lee, who missed all of 2014 with a torn ACL but this season has totaled a team-high 33 tackles and one sack. He has also knocked down two passes, recovered a fumble and picked off a pass.

The move from the middle to the outside this year seems to agree with the talented defender as well as the team. Despite Sunday’s loss to Atlanta, the Cowboys entered Week 4 ranked eighth in the NFL in total defense, as well as 10th in rushing yards allowed per game.

S Eric Berry, Kansas City Chiefs

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For some who may be a bit misguided, sports are not life and death.

Sports are games. Life is nothing to play with.

Kansas City Chiefs strong safety Eric Berry knows the difference, having dealt with the reality of cancer a year ago. Last December, the three-time Pro Bowler was diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma, as reported by Lindsay H. Jones of USA Today. It was a fight he would wind up winning. Nine months later, Berry is back on the field and helping his team.

“How much ever (his teammates) respected him before, they respect him even more now,” said Kansas City Chiefs head coach Chiefs coach Andy Reid this week via conference call, according to Coley Harvey of ESPN.com. “And for him to be able to play, that’s quite a story there. We’re happy he’s alive. That’s the most important thing. Anything after that was just icing on the cake.”

On Monday night at Lambeau Field, Berry totaled five tackles in the team’s loss to the Green Bay Packers. He’s played in all three games this season and has totaled 11 stops while knocking down one pass.

Three weeks into 2015, the Chiefs are 1-2. For Berry, he’s undefeated this year in something far more important.

RB Adrian Peterson, Minnesota Vikings

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Running back Adrian Peterson played only one game for the Minnesota Vikings last season.

The factors that led to his missing all but the season opener are a topic for another time. Regardless, the nine-year professional, who was stifled in a Week 1 loss to the San Francisco 49ers, is starting to look like the best running back in the league once again.

Thanks to impressive outings in wins over the Detroit Lions (134 yards) and San Diego Chargers (126 yards), Peterson entered Week 4 as the league leader with 291 rushing yards.

It will be interesting to see if Peterson has one of those seasons as he did in 2012, when he finished with the second-most rushing yards in a season (2,097) in NFL history. Given the circumstances that caused him to miss 15 games in 2014, it could be intriguing how voters feel about him when it comes to Comeback Player of the Year honors.

QB Sam Bradford, Philadelphia Eagles

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There are comebacks…and there are major comebacks.

When you miss 25 consecutive games, which obviously includes an entire season, there’s reason to celebrate even if your performance hasn't been quite up to par…yet.

This offseason, the Philadelphia Eagles swapped starting quarterbacks (kind of) with the St. Louis Rams. The latter obtained former Pro Bowler Nick Foles, while the Birds picked up oft-injured Sam Bradford, who missed the final nine games of 2013 and then all of 2014 when he tore his ACL in the preseason.

Still, the first overall pick in the 2010 draft was head coach Chip Kelly’s choice in Philadelphia, and slowly but surely he’s rounding into form. Yes, he’s committed five of the team’s six turnovers this season, but Bradford has also completed 62.4 percent of his throws for 678 yards and three touchdowns (four interceptions). He and the team are coming off their first win of the season, a 24-17 victory over the New York Jets.

As he becomes more acclimated to Kelly and the coach's system, you can look for Bradford to elevate his game. And it’s safe to say the sixth-year quarterback understands the virtue of patience.

RB Danny Woodhead, San Diego Chargers

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It is safe to say that San Diego Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers made great use of running back Danny Woodhead two years ago. The former New England Patriots performer latched on with the Bolts in 2013 and not only scored eight touchdowns but totaled a career-high 1,034 yards from scrimmage.

A year ago, Woodhead’s season ended during the team’s 18-17 loss to the Arizona Cardinals in Week 1. His absence proved to be distressing for Rivers, who missed his outlet receiver in a big way.

However, despite the team’s 1-2 start, the versatile running back is off to a respectable start in 2015, totaling 209 yards from scrimmage and two touchdown on 41 touches. He ranks third on the club with 13 catches, good for 119 yards, while both of his scores have come via the ground.

We’re not sure when the San Diego defense will get its act together. However, Rivers has to be ecstatic about the return of Woodhead, who has taken a bit of a sting out of the absence of tight end Antonio Gates (who returns from suspension in Week 5).

ILB NaVorro Bowman, San Francisco 49ers

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You could use several adjectives to describe one of the more gruesome NFL injuries in recent seasons.

And since it occurred in late January in the 2013 NFC title game, it was hardly surprising that the perennial Pro Bowler sat out the entire 2014 season.

It’s safe to say San Francisco 49ers inside linebacker NaVorro Bowman is looking to make up for lost time. Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee asked the question as to why the defensive leader was still on the field very late in a 47-7 loss at Arizona.

“That’s just who he is and what he does,” said teammate and inside linebacker Michael Wilhoite. “It’s good for the locker room, it’s good for the players and it’s good for the young guys.”

What he also does is continue to produce when he’s on the field. After three weeks, Bowman leads the team with 20 tackles, as well as a sack, even though the San Francisco defense has been somewhat abused the last two games.

In any case, Bowman is back and at the center of a new-look defensive unit. And be it in a win or loss, he plans on being on the field as much as possible.

“It just shows that he’s going to be there through thick and thin and that he’s a leader,” said outside linebacker Corey Lemonier to Barrows. “And we all respect that.”