NFL Analyst Selects Bills' Damar Hamlin Over Baker Mayfield For Comeback Player of the Year
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The NFL season is closer and closer to coming to a close as four teams remain in the conference championship rounds. One of the Baltimore Ravens, Kansas City Chiefs, Detroit Lions, or San Francisco 49ers will be crowned a Super Bowl champion over the next month.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers saw their season come to a close last week as they took a 31-23 loss to the Lions in the NFC Divisional Round. Now, they've got to look forward to the offseason as they have to pick a direction to go as a franchise.
With the season nearly coming to a close, though, there are awards to be announced, and those could include Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield. He was announced as a finalist for the award on Thursday.
Peter King of Pro Football Talk cast his vote, giving his flowers to Damar Hamlin for the award.
"Damar Hamlin over Baker Mayfield for Comeback Player. Easy choice," King wrote in his notebook.
Citing that it's an easy choice is quite a take. While what Hamlin went through and made his return from is quite incredible after suffering cardiac arrest late in the 2022 NFL season, he posted four tackles this year in his return.
On the flip side, Mayfield went from essentially being pushed out of a starting role and earning the tag of backup quarterback to solidifying himself as a solid quarterback. He posted 4,044 passing yards and 28 passing touchdowns to his ten interceptions in the regular season.
Mayfield certainly has a case to win the award after being traded and replaced by the Cleveland Browns and earning a negative rep during his time with the Carolina Panthers. The Buccaneers provided a perfect opportunity for him to bounce back, which he took and ran with this past season.
Stick with BucsGameday and the Locked On Bucs podcast for more coverage of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers throughout the 2023 season.
