Dak Prescott Named Top Contender For Comeback Player Award

Louisiana native and Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott is leading the off-season betting market for a 2025 season award. Not bad for someone who missed over half of the season last year.

But, missing that time last year is actually what has led to Dak having a shot at the award in question. Because the betting market currently has him as the favorite for NFL Comeback Player of the Year. An award reserved for those who missed time the previous season. Sort of.

What Is The NFL Comeback Player Of The Year Award?

The Associated Press has generally awarded a player every season who "overcomes adversity" with the Comeback Player of the Year award. However, in 2024 the award become more refined. In 2023, Joe Flacco was given the award, but hadn't suffered a serious injury or personal tragedy that could be labeled as "adversity". He had played the year before, even starting the final game of the 2022 season for the New York Jets.

In the 2023 season, Flacco signed with the Cleveland Browns in November, and took over as starter in Week 13 of the season. He played great down the stretch, and helped the Browns get into the playoffs. For that, he was given Comeback Player of the Year.

After that season, there were some tighter constraints on who can win. The new guidelines say the player must overcome "illness, physical injury, or other circumstances that led him to miss playing time the previous season" to be eligible to win. A player can literally log one play in the following season to be eligible.

When Do They Announce The NFL Comeback Player Of The Year?

Now, this isn't some small, often ignored award either. The Comeback Player of the Year is one of the awards presented annually at the NFL Honors ceremony. The same place the Coach of the Year, Offensive and Defensive Player of the Year, and MVP are awarded.

How Can Dak Prescott Win The NFL Comeback Player Of The Year?

So Dak Prescott being the betting leader for Comeback Player of the Year is a pretty big deal. It also gets more impressive when you see the list of other players the oddsmakers are putting up there.

According to a report from Fox Sports, here's what FanDuel has posted:

Dak Prescott, Cowboys: +300 (bet $10 to win $40 total)
Aidan Hutchinson, Lions: +320 (bet $10 to win $42 total)
Christian McCaffrey, 49ers: +370 (bet $10 to win $47 total)
Trevor Lawrence, Jaguars: +450 (bet $10 to win $55 total)
J.J. McCarthy, Vikings: +850 (bet $10 to win $95 total)

That's a pretty star-filled list. Hutchinson is coming back from a broken leg, McCaffrey has seemed non-stop nicked up for a few years, but a PCL injury ended his year last year. Lawrence had his season cut short with concussion issues and a shoulder injury. McCarthy might be the most interesting name here. He saw action in one preseason game last year, during his rookie season, and he showed off with two touchdowns. But following the game, he reported that his knee was bothering him. They found he had fully torn his meniscus, and he had season ending surgery. Now, he's going to be the starter on one of the best teams in the NFC.

Back to Dak. He's had some bad injury luck over the last few years. In 2020, he had a gruesome ankle injury that cost him the season. He missed a game in 2021 with a calf strain, and he missed 5 games in 2022 with a broken thumb. Last season was cut short after Week 9 due to a hamstring injury that required surgery.

Being that Dak is a Dallas Cowboy, he will have the brightest light of the top players on the betting odds list.

Are The Dallas Cowboys Going To Be Good In 2025?

While changes along the Cowboys' offensive line will mean its not going to be as strong as before, it still looks good on paper. The team did some work to add offensive weapons for Dak, like wide receiver George Pickens and running back Javonte Williams. Don't sleep on wide receiver Parris Campbell either. Because if the coaching staff can unlock that talent this former second round pick has flashed, they have a steal here.

Dak is positioned to perform well this year, which is what has the oddsmakers excited about his Comeback Player of the Year chances.