Comeback Player of the Year: OLB John Abraham
There were several players who could’ve been put in this spot but I picked Abraham for two reasons. First, he was released by the Atlanta Falcons on March 1st and signed with the Cardinals on July 25. That means for over four months he was overlooked by the rest of the NFL as a veteran who was past his time. The second was that when he retuned to action he was quickly moved from defensive end to outside linebacker, yet excelled in his new position just the same. Abraham and 11.5 sacks. In a three game stretch from Week 8 to Week 11 (Week 9 being their bye) Abraham was responsible for seven of the Cards nine sacks in that stretch.
Abraham looked done when he was without a team after his release, but the Cardinals have revived the current leader of total sacks among active players, and he made an excellent showing with his new team.