Latest news with #ComebackPlayeroftheYear
USA Today
a day ago
- Entertainment
- USA Today
Randy Moss returning to ESPN's 'Sunday NFL Countdown' in 2025, per report
The Hall of Famer is making another comeback. Randy Moss is returning to ESPN's "Sunday NFL Countdown" for the 2025 season, per The Athletic's Andrew Marchand. The network announced on Dec. 6, 2024 that Moss would be stepping away from the show and Moss later revealed in an Instagram livestream he was recovering from surgery to treat cancer. Moss explained in the livestream that he'd been treated for cancer found outside of his bile duct between his pancreas and liver. In all, he spent six days in the hospital for surgery, treatment and recovery in Charlotte, North Carolina. Less than two months later, Moss made an appearance on ESPN during Super Bowl 59, his first since undergoing cancer treatment. He'd also appeared virtually during the NFL Honors broadcast to announce the winner of the Comeback Player of the Year award, Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow. Now, Moss is set for a full return for the 2025 NFL season. This year marks his 10th with ESPN. He'll be back on "Sunday NFL Countdown" starting in Week 1.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Randy Moss will reportedly return to ESPN's 'Sunday NFL Countdown' for 2025 NFL season following cancer treatment
ESPN says it expects Hall of Famer Randy Moss to return to "Sunday NFL Countdown" in a full-time capacity for the 2025 season, the network told Andrew Marchand of The Athletic. Moss stepped back from his role in December after revealing he had undergone surgery to remove cancerous cells in his bile duct. At the time, he said he still had to go through chemotherapy and radiation, but added that he wanted to return to the desk as soon as possible. The 48-year-old also had a stent inserted into his live due to complications from his condition. Advertisement Moss, who is in his 10th year with ESPN, returned to "NFL Countdown" in February for the network's Super Bowl pregame show. 'Randy's return on Super Bowl Sunday was an emotional lift — not just for our team but for the entire football community — and knowing he will resume his full Sunday NFL Countdown schedule, beginning in Week 1, has been the highlight of the offseason,' read a statement from ESPN to The Athletic. Moss had previously drawn attention to his health problems when he wore sunglasses during an episode of "NFL Countdown." Moss made a remote appearance during the 2025 NFL Honors ceremony, announcing Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow as the Comeback Player of the Year. During the spot, Moss wore a hoodie and hat he created in the wake of his cancer diagnosis, with the slogan "Team Moss: Let's Moss Cancer." Sales from the merchandise went towards cancer research.
USA Today
a day ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Packers best candidates to win major NFL awards in 2025
Recent major NFL award winners (as voted on by the Associated Press) from the Green Bay Packers include quarterback Aaron Rodgers, the NFL MVP in 2011, 2024, 2020 and 2021; receiver Jordy Nelson, the NFL's Comeback Player of the Year in 2016; running back Eddie Lacy, the NFL's Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2013; and cornerback Charles Woodson, the NFL's Defensive Player of the Year in 2009. Can the Packers add a major award winner in 2025? A special season would be required. Here are the Packers' best candidates to win major NFL awards from the AP in 2025: MVP: QB Jordan Love A quarterback has won this award every year since 2012 and 17 of the last 18 years overall, so Love -- the most important Packer entering 2025 -- is the obvious choice here. He'll enter the season as a big MVP longshot after an injury-plagued 2024 season, but if the version of Love that ended the 2023 season shows up for a long stretch of 2025, he'll be right in the mix. He's already shown that he can sustain elite-level play at quarterback over a nearly two-month stretch of play. If he can again, and the Packers are one of the NFL's top teams, he'll have a legitimate chance at MVP. Offensive Player of the Year: RB Josh Jacobs This award has increasingly been more open to running backs, with Derrick Henry winning in 2020, Christian McCaffrey and Saquon Barkley winning the last two years. But it would take a monster season for Jacobs to win it in 2025. Henry rushed for 2,027 yards and scored 17 touchdowns in 2020. McCaffrey gained 2,023 total yards and scored 21 touchdowns in 2023. And Barkley rushed for 2,005 yards and scored 15 touchdowns last year. Can Jacobs flirt with 2,000 total yards as a focal point of the Packers offense? He got to 1,671 total yards and scored 16 times last year. Jacobs will need more efficiency and many more big plays in 2025. Defensive Player of the Year: LB Edgerrin Cooper An edge rusher or quarterback disruptor is the more likely choice here, and a true off-ball linebacker hasn't won the award since 2013. But Cooper has All-Pro potential as one of the game's most exciting young linebackers, and he could explode in a full-time role for Jeff Hafley in 2025. He also has the right mix of flash and disruptive production ability to catch the eyes of voters. As a rookie, he made big-time plays as a pass-rusher, against the run and in coverage. You can bet Hafley has a whole package of blitzes ready for Cooper, who is bigger and stronger entering Year 2. What if Cooper manages to lead all players in tackles for losses while also registering a decent amount of sacks and takeaways for a top defense? Offensive Rookie of the Year: WR Matthew Golden The obvious pick. A first-round pick at a money position, Golden is stepping into a situation where he could command plenty of targets in a good offense as a first-year player. This is often an award won by quarterbacks, but Ja'Marr Chase and Garrett Wilson are recent winners at receiver. Still, Golden is a big longshot, and he'd likely need to clear 1,000 receiving yards and score a bunch of touchdowns to have a legitimate chance. Defensive Rookie of the Year: DE/LB Collin Oliver A huge longshot, admittedly. The Packers went offense-heavy in the 2025 draft and didn't take a defensive player until Day 3. Fourth-rounder Barryn Sorrell was considered here, but winning this award will require a lot of highlight plays, and Oliver is the better bet to create them. He was a disruption machine as a hybrid edge rusher/off-ball linebacker for Oklahoma State and is bringing an exciting skill set to the NFL level. Can Oliver emerge right away as a subpackage edge rusher for Jeff Hafley and threaten 10 or more sacks? It would be a huge, huge surprise, but crazier things have happened. Comeback Player of the Year: QB Jordan Love This has somehow become a quarterback-dominant award, with passers winning it each of the last seven years. Love injured his knee in Week 1, suffered a groin injury in Week 8 and then injured his elbow in the season finale of an injury-plagued 2024 season. Would voters consider him a "comeback" type of player in 2025? Love missed only two total games, so it's possible he's not a true candidate. Coach of the Year: Matt LaFleur LaFleur has won 13 or more regular season games three times in his coaching career in Green Bay and even led the Packers to a playoff berth in the first year of the post-Aaron Rodgers era, but he hasn't come close to winning this award. The Packers won 11 games last season, so room for improvement in 2025 is small. LaFleur might have to lead the Packers to 14 or 15 wins during a dominant regular season to be considered. We'll consider him a longshot here. Assistant Coach of the Year: Jeff Hafley Of all the major awards, this one might be the most attainable for the Packers. Hafley helped create big improvement for the Packers defense in 2024, and he's entering the 2025 season with a chance to push his group from good to truly great. If the Packers can make another big jump on defense after releasing Jaire Alexander and not making a big addition to the defensive front, Hafley should absolutely be considered for this award. And if he wins this award, the Packers might have to prepare for saying goodbye to an emerging NFL head coaching candidate.
Fox Sports
25-06-2025
- Sport
- Fox Sports
2025-26 NFL Comeback Player Of The Year Odds: Prescott, Hutchinson, McCaffrey At Top
The 2025-26 NFL season kicks off in a little over two months, and bettors are already eyeing the odds for Comeback Player of the Year. Last season, Cincinnati's Joe Burrow took home the award. As a matter of fact, he's one of only two players ever to win the award twice. Burrow missed the last seven games of the 2023 season after suffering a wrist injury. In his comeback campaign, he passed for 4,918 yards and 43 touchdowns, and both were the best in the NFL. Glancing at the odds for players who might win next year, there's not much separation at the top of the board. So who takes home the hardware for the 2025-26 season? Let's look at the latest lines at FanDuel Sportsbook as of June 25. AP Comeback Player of the Year 2025-26 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) Rashee Rice, Chiefs: +1400 (bet $10 to win $150 total) Maxx Crosby, Raiders: +2000 (bet $10 to win $210 total) Tua Tagovailoa, Dolphins: +2000 (bet $10 to win $210 total) Daniel Jones, Colts: +2500 (bet $10 to win $260 total) Chris Godwin, Buccaneers: +2600 (bet $10 to win $270 total) Stefon Diggs, Patriots: +2800 (bet $10 to win $290 total) Brandon Aiyuk, 49ers: +2900 (bet $10 to win $300 total)Anthony Richardson, Colts: +3200 (bet $10 to win $330 total) Nick Chubb, Texans: +5500 (bet $10 to win $560 total) The player with the shortest odds at +300 is Dallas quarterback Dak Prescott. Dak only played eight games for the Cowboys last year before sustaining a hamstring injury that required season-ending surgery. Speaking of Prescott, the second player on the board — Aidan Hutchinson (+320) — broke his leg in Week 6 of last season while tackling the Cowboys' QB. Rounding out the top three at +370 is San Francisco's Christian McCaffrey. CMC's injury woes started during training camp last season. Then an injury in Week 12 to his PCL sidelined him for the rest of the year. A longer shot to consider in this spot is Houston's Nick Chubb at +5500. The former Browns' running back had been in Cleveland since getting drafted by the team in 2018. In 2023 and 2024, Chubb battled setbacks and injuries to his ACL and MCL, and then, ultimately, he signed a one-year deal with the Texans in June. Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account, and follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily! recommended Get more from National Football League Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more
USA Today
22-06-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Cowboys coordinator Matt Eberflus does this one thing extremely well
Matt Eberflus has earned the moniker of 'Linebacker whisperer' in his time as a position guru, defensive coordinator, and head coach in the NFL. Regardless of whether the player was drafted and developed by Eberflus, a veteran with success elsewhere, or a player he had to take to the next level, linebackers elevate while under his stewardship. As a linebacker coach and defensive coordinator, he helped develop Sean Lee, Bruce Carter, Anthony Hitchens, Damien Wilson, Jaylon Smith, Bobby Okereke, and Shaquille Leonard. Lee was drafted the season before Eberflus became the linebacker coach at Dallas and developed into an all-time great when healthy. In their first season together, Lee had 104 tackles, 10 for a loss, four interceptions, and seven pass breakups. He was fifth in the 2016 voting for Defensive Player of the Year and had his only first-team All-Pro season. Carter was a starter under Eberflus for three seasons. He had a season with 96 tackles, two sacks, three pass breakups, and five tackles for a loss. He had five interceptions and eight pass breakups in another season with Eberflus. Without Eberflus, he never started more than three games or recorded 50 tackles. Anthony Hitchens and Damien Wilson were fourth-round picks who Eberflus developed into starters all four years of their rookie contracts, and they each went on to start and win a Super Bowl with the Kansas City Chiefs. Jaylon Smith had two seasons with Eberflus, coming off a career-threatening injury. He was fifth in Comeback Player of the Year voting in 2017 and later developed into a Pro Bowler. As a defensive coordinator for the Colts, Eberflus oversaw the drafting and development of both Leonard and Okereke. Okereke became a linebacker who averaged over 120 tackles a season and has been in the top 10 in solo tackles three times in six seasons. Leonard developed into a star. He started 58 games and averaged 134.5 tackles, 7.5 tackles for a loss, nearly three interceptions, 7.5 pass breakups, over four forced fumbles, and almost four sacks. He was a three-time All-Pro and won the Defensive Rookie of the Year award. Dallas is very young at linebacker, with Marist Liufau, DeMarvion Overshown, and Shemar James having a season or less of experience on the field. Veterans Kenneth Murray, Jack Sanborn, and Damone Clark will also improve under his tutelage. There have also been journeyman linebackers who saw significant upticks while playing for Eberflus. David Bowens had one season as a full-time starter in 10 years. He was a defensive end who transitioned to linebacker when Eberflus took over as the position coach in Cleveland. Bowens went from a high of 43 tackles to 71 and had a career-high 12 QB hits in 15 starts. In the same 2009 season, Matt Roth played four games without a start for the Miami Dolphins before being released. He was claimed off waivers by the Browns, where he started the final six games with Eberflus as linebackers coach. The following year, he started all 16 games, and in that 22-game span, he accumulated 114 tackles, 7.5 sacks, and 12 tackles for a loss. Anthony Spencer became a significant impact player and a Pro-Bowler in his second year working with Eberflus. He nearly doubled his highest sack total with 11 and had his highest tackles for a loss, too. His personal-best in tackles went from 67 to 95, and he did it in only 14 starts. Rolando McClain won Comeback Player of the Year in 2014 with Eberflus after missing seven games in 2012 and the entire 2013 season. All in all, Eberflus' influence should rear it's head pretty quickly with his new troops in Dallas.
