2026 NFL Comeback Player of the Year revealed

by: Griffin McVeigh 37 minutes ago griffin_mcveigh

San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey has won NFL Comeback Player of the Year. McCaffrey heard his name called on Thursday night in his home city, taking in the NFL Honors award ceremony. But after bouncing back in a big way in 2025, the honor goes to one of the league’s top players.

McCaffrey only played in four games last season, missing a significant amount of time due to injury. A lot of hard work went into getting back on the field. Thankfully, the running back was able to appear in all 17 regular season games for the 49ers. And partially due to his success, two playoff games.

During the regular season, McCaffrey rushed for 1,202 yards and 10 touchdowns on 311 carries. However, head coach Kyle Shanahan knows he can use McCaffrey in more ways than one. The 49ers deployed McCaffrey out there in the pass game plenty, recording 924 receiving yards on 102 catches. Another seven touchdowns were recorded as well.

Those playoff numbers are not too shabby either. McCaffrey going for 83 yards on the ground over two games is not his best work. His stats through the air make up for it, though, with 11 receptions for 105 yards and two scores.

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