Like any other given NFL season, 2023 has seen its fair share of players piece together feel-good Comeback Player of the Year-like seasons.
On the negative side, several notable players have quickly fallen into a pool of irrelevance. It all leads to us wondering if they’ll ever return to stardom, or if they’re simply in the early phases of their twilight years.
With that said, let’s dive into five NFL players who have revived their career, and five that have fallen off the face of the earth.
Revived Career: Matthew Stafford
One year after winning a Super Bowl 56 championship in his first year with the Los Angeles Rams, Matthew Stafford appeared to be done for.
A string of injuries limited him to nine games in 2022. He had just 10 touchdown passes against eight interceptions while averaging 231.9 passing yards per game — his worst mark as a regular starter in 13 years.
The Rams finished 5-12 and simply looked done for. Jalen Ramsey was traded to Miami in a cap-saving move, and there were rumors that LA wanted to trade Stafford — only that they couldn’t find a taker for his mammoth contract.
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Well, you know what they say. Sometimes the best moves are the ones you don’t make — and keeping Stafford has been a blessing for the Rams this year.
Armed with a rebuilt o-line and two new rookie weapons in wideout Puka Nacua and running back Kyren Williams, Stafford has regained his Pro Bowl-like form — even without Cooper Kupp for the first four games.
Despite a daunting schedule and injuries to several key offensive players, Stafford is slinging it again — and he has LA back in the postseason race. They looked done for at 3-and-6, only to rip off three straight wins to climb back into wild card contention.
Whether they make the postseason or not, the Rams can take comfort in knowing that Stafford is still their QB. No need stressing about that contract or finding a replacement. He’s healthy, has a stout o-line and not one, but three dynamic weapons to feed the ball to. Stafford’s far from done — and these Rams just might find a way to squeak out one more championship run with this core.
Fell Off The Face Of The Earth: Mac Jones
You really gotta feel for Mac Jones. Bill Belichick ruined his sophomore year with the whole Matt Patricia & Joe Judge fiasco. Belichick responded by giving Jones a new OC in Bill O’Brien… a woeful supporting cast devoid of game changers.
The result? Rock bottom for the Patriots — Jones and Belichick especially. Who knows what New England will do with Bill after the season, but Jones most certainly isn’t returning to Foxborough next year.
Jones was benched in games against the Indianapolis Colts and New York Giants in favor of Bailey Zappe. Finally, Belichick made Zappe the starter in December — perhaps saving Jones from further scrutiny and disappointment.
It’s hard not to feel bad for Jones. You can tell by his body language he’s completely out of answers and self-confidence. How can you win with his supporting cast in a gauntlet of a division…with an atrocious offensive line?
Two years ago, Jones had a superb rookie year and led the Patriots to the playoffs. Now he’s going to be lucky to find a starting job elsewhere in 2024. You can’t blame him entirely for the mess that’s 2023, but he’s sure fallen off the face of the earth in a short period of time…
Revived Career: Russell Wilson
How quickly things can change in less than a year.
At this time last year, the Denver Broncos were toast. Russell Wilson looked totally washed up, and Geno Smith was in the midst of his Comeback Player of the Year-award winning season. The Broncos would fire Nathaniel Hackett before the season ended, while Seattle locked down the NFC’s final playoff spot.
Now fast forward to 2023. Smith has come back to earth, and Denver’s $245 million quarterback is finally playing like the QB the front office sold the farm for a year ago.
The nine-time Pro Bowler is enjoying a career renaissance in his age-34/35 season under new head coach Sean Payton. Wilson has regained his confidence, pinpoint accuracy and football security skills that made him so dynamic in Seattle for a decade.
Denver dropped five of its first six games, only to go on a mid-season five-game winning streak that included the franchise’s first win over the Kansas City Chiefs in eight years — putting the Broncos right back in the thick of the AFC playoff race.
Wilson is on pace to throw 30 touchdowns for the sixth time in his career — and he’s already surpassed his season rushing totals from 2021 and 2022.
Clearly, Wilson was just missing a qualified head coach. He didn’t have it in Hackett, but he does now in Payton. Denver has its franchise quarterback after all — and Wilson has them in position to end an eight-year playoff drought.
Congrats on the career revival, Russ. We knew you could do it!
Fell Off The Face Of The Earth: Devin White
White’s rapid fall from rising superstar and Super Bowl 55 champion to complete irrelevance is really something that’s impossible to comprehend.
The fifth overall pick of 2019 earned a second-team all-pro nod as a sophomore in 2020 and led the Bucs to a Super Bowl title on their home field — racking up four pass defenses, nine sacks and 140 combined tackles that year.
After earning his first Pro Bowl nod in 2021, White has inexplicably become a major liability on an otherwise stout Tampa defense. PFF graded him at 45.5 for 2022, and White proceeded to request a trade in the offseason.
Ultimately, the two sides agreed to play nice — so White returned to Tampa for another year — and to no avail!
White will come nowhere close to that career-best 9-sack season, and he may miss the 100-tackle mark for the first time since his rookie year. Worse yet, PFF had him graded at a miserable 39.2 through his first 11 games. Yeah, it’s gotten that bad.
Tampa has an easy decision to let White walk to free agency after the season. The Bucs already lost a lot of relevance once Tom Brady stepped away, but White’s career-low season has not gone unnoticed here.
Revived Career: C.J. Mosley
The New York Jets were widely panned for giving ex-Baltimore Ravens star CJ Mosley a whopping $85 million over five years back in the 2019 season.
That was considered way too much money for an inside linebacker — and it didn’t take long for the Jets to feel buyer’s remorse, alright. Mosley missed all but two games in 2019, opted out of the 2020 season and had a woeful 2021 season — finishing with a PFF grade of a lousy 42.0.
Here we are in 2023, and Mosley is finally living up to that hefty contract. Better late than never, we suppose.
Amid a lost year for Gang Green without Aaron Rodgers, Mosley has started playing like the ex-Ravens Pro Bowler and All-Pro that we all know and love. There’s a positive for Robert Saleh’s group, alright.
Through the Jets’ first 13 games, Mosley had 124 combined tackles and seven pass defenses. As well, PFF had him graded at 84.7 — Mosley’s best grade there as a pro to date. At this rate, the man is playing like somebody overly deserving of a contract extension.
Fell Off The Face Of The Earth: Miles Sanders
Sanders turned a career year with the Philadelphia Eagles into a shiny payday from the Carolina Panthers: A lucrative $25.4 million pact over four years.
Carolina had the cap space, plus they needed to surround Bryce Young with as many weapons as possible. Sanders had just rushed for 1,269 yards and 11 touchdowns — both career highs. He earned his first Pro Bowl nod and led the Eagles to a Super Bowl 57 appearance, where they narrowly lost to the Kansas City Chiefs.
Welp, Sanders can thank Philly’s o-line for scoring him that mega deal. He’s been a complete bust behind the Panthers’ woeful run-blocking unit, to say the very least.
Sanders’ unproductive play led to the Panthers making Chuba Hubbard the new RB1 — a role he’s flourished in. Sanders, meanwhile, will finish with a career-low in yards per carry – and he might not even average half of the 74.6 rushing yards per game he put up a year ago.
From a star on an NFC Championship-winning team to a bench player on football’s worst team. Yeah, the past nine months haven’t been so kind to Mr. Sanders.
Revived Career: Jadeveon Clowney
The first overall pick of 2014 has done a great job with his real-life portrayal of Jekyll and Hyde. I mean, just look at Clowney’s year-by-year production — particularly the sack numbers.
After a stellar 2021 season with the Cleveland Browns in which he tallied nine sacks, Clowney predictably followed it up with a lackluster two-sack season. Now fast forward to 2023— and Clowney is playing arguably his best football yet with the Baltimore Ravens.
It’s not just that he might set a career-high in sacks, though. Through Week 13, Clowney was ranked sixth on ESPN’s pass rush win rate among edge rushers — and he could easily be top-three by season’s end.
Clowney is drawing a higher double team rate than the likes of TJ Watt, Chase Young, Haason Reddick and even Maxx Crosby. He’s also on pace to finish with his best PFF grade since 2019, by the way.
Thanks largely to Clowney’s efforts, Baltimore could very well finish as the No. 1 D in both yards and points.
Who knows where this group would be right now without the best version of Clowney yet?.
Fell Off The Face Of The Earth: Dalvin Cook
Does anybody know what happened to the four-time Pro Bowler and 1,000-yard rusher? Anyone? Hello???
After being marred by injuries in his rookie and sophomore 2017 and 2018 campaigns, Cook finally broke out for the Minnesota Vikings in 2019. That year, he notched 1,135 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns. The next season, Cook had a career-high 16 rushing scores.
Cook surpassed 1,100 yards rushing again in 2021 and 2022 — leading Minny to 13 wins and the NFC North division crown in the latter year. Facing a cap crunch, however, the Vikings decided to cut their star running back in a money-saving move.
Cook was a free agent for two months before signing with Aaron Rodgers’ New York Jets — forming a dynamic RB pairing alongside rising star Breece Hall. Surely, Cook would provide another explosive element to this already-scary offense…right?
Ahem…nope. Cook has been practically invisible all season long. A 35-yard outing against the Atlanta Falcons in Week 13 marked his best performance of the season up to that point. Cook also didn’t have a single rushing score through the Jets’ first 13 games. Losing Rodgers for the season in Week 1 was a giant blow that the Jets couldn’t overcome. But everybody expected more from Cook, who
Revived Career: Khalil Mack
Entering the 2023 season, Mack looked like a fading commodity well past his best-before-date. He hadn’t recorded double-digit sacks in each of his previous four years — and his usually-high PFF grade dipped into the low 70s in 2021 and 2022.
But the 2016 Defensive Player of the Year has turned back the clock, alright, with what has already turned out to be his best statistical season yet. Mack put up a ridiculous six-sack-outing in a Week 4 win against the Las Vegas Raiders — and it was no fluke whatsoever.
Mack has been playing like a Defensive Player of the Year candidate all season long. By Week 13, Mack had already matched his career-best 15-sack season. He’s in the running for the league lead in both sacks and forced fumbles.
Not bad for a 32-year-old who would have likely been cut or traded if he had another disappointing year. But vintage Khalil Mack has returned — and that’s bad news for the rest of the NFL. Clearly, he’s got plenty of quality football left in him.
Fell Off The Face Of The Earth: Jamal Adams
Remember when Adams had a dynamic first year with Seattle in 2020 — registering 9.5 sacks which set a single-season record for a defensive back? Pepperidge Farm remembers.
Adams’ play has slipped entirely ever since — going from Pro Bowler and All-Pro to ZERO on Seattle’s underachieving defense. He missed five games in 2021 then suffered a torn quad in the club’s 2022 season opener — so there wasn’t a whole lot of game film to evaluate.
Adams returned to the field in Week 4 after missing three games to injury…and he certainly hasn’t come back with a vengeance.
Adams has been absolutely atrocious in coverage, allowing a passer rating north of 100 while allowing more than 80 percent of passes in his direction to go for completions — according to Pro Football Reference. Furthermore, Pro Football Focus had Adams graded at a woeful 54.9 through his first nine games.
Granted, almost everybody on the Seattle D not named Devon Witherspoon has underachieved this year. But Adams hasn’t just underachieved — he’s been absolutely awful and is playing like a second-stringer.
That’s not ideal given his near-$11.5 million cap hit — and not ideal considering his career accolades. Worse yet, the structure of his deal means Seattle can’t realistically cut Adams until 2025.
Well, we’ll always have the memories of 2017 to 2020 versions of Jamal Adams to cherish…
Which other NFL players have revived their careers in 2023, and which ones fell off the face of the earth?
