Last season the New York Jets acquired a future Hall of Fame quarterback in Aaron Rodgers. At the time of the move, Rodgers was only one year removed from back-to-back MVP awards, making the move especially notable.
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Then, in peak New York Jets fashion, Rodgers was injured after playing all of 4 snaps.
In general, when a player is one year removed from an MVP and then suffers a major injury, it’s a pretty fair wager that said player is going to be a favorite for the Comeback Player of the Year award. It’s the perfect combination of fantastic player and notable injury that makes a compelling story, especially when that player is trying to help a franchise end a decade-long playoff-less streak.
So perhaps it should come as no surprise that Aaron Rodgers is currently DraftKings’ betting favorite for the Comeback Player of the Year award with +100 odds (as of Saturday morning at around 10AM). In implied likelihoods, that is a probability of 50%, which is extremely high.
But what other players stand in Rodgers’ way? Well, quite a few notable ones.
Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow: +200 (implied probability of ~33%)
Atlanta Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins: +500 (implied probability of ~17%)
Indianapolis Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson: +750 (implied probability of ~12%)
Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Russell Wilson: +1200 (implied probability of ~8%)
Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson: +1500 (implied probability of ~7%)
To me, this really seems like a four horse race between Rodgers, Burrow, Cousins, and Richardson. Each of those players are quarterbacks who experienced significant injuries and will be major players if their team succeeds this season, which make for the most compelling storylines. With that said, if the Jets live up to their potential than the award strikes me as Rodgers’s to lose.
What do you think? Who would you bet to win the Comeback Player of the Year award?
