The NFL is a brutal league—once a player struggles with injuries, age, or a rough stretch, people are quick to write them off.
But some guys refuse to let their careers end quietly and come back stronger than ever. Here are 10 NFL players who everyone thought were done but made epic comebacks.
10. Alex Smith
After suffering a gruesome leg injury that led to 17 surgeries and nearly cost him his life, nobody expected Smith to ever play again. But in 2020, he not only returned to the field—he helped Washington make the playoffs, cementing one of the most inspiring comebacks in NFL history.
9. Michael Vick
Vick’s career seemed completely over after his prison sentence for dogfighting, but he got a second chance with the Eagles. In 2010, he put together an MVP-caliber season, proving he still had that electrifying playmaking ability.
8. Peyton Manning
After multiple neck surgeries and getting cut by the Colts, it looked like Manning’s career was finished. Then he joined the Broncos, threw 55 touchdowns in a season, won an MVP, and rode off into the sunset with a Super Bowl ring.
7. Adrian Peterson
Most running backs don’t come back from a torn ACL, but Peterson isn’t most running backs. A year after tearing his knee up, he nearly broke the single-season rushing record and won NFL MVP.
6. Rob Gronkowski
Gronk retired in 2019 due to injuries, and it seemed like his Hall of Fame career was over. Then he unretired, joined Brady in Tampa Bay, and won another Super Bowl like he never even left.
5. Doug Flutie
Flutie was completely written off by the NFL and spent years dominating the CFL before getting another shot. When he returned to the league in the late ‘90s, he became a Pro Bowler with the Bills and gave us one of the best underdog stories in football.
4. Eric Berry
Berry was one of the best safeties in the league before being diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma. After beating cancer, he came back and made the Pro Bowl, proving that nothing could stop him.
3. Brett Favre
Favre retired (then un-retired), struggled in New York, and then looked completely washed. Then he went to Minnesota, had an MVP-level season at 40 years old, and took the Vikings to the NFC Championship.
Read More: The 10 Most Inspirational Career-Defining Comebacks in NFL History
2. Garrison Hearst
Hearst’s gruesome ankle injury was so bad that doctors weren’t sure he’d ever walk normally again. Two years later, he returned to the NFL, ran for over 1,200 yards, and made the Pro Bowl.
Read More: The 10 Shortest Quarterbacks Who Ever Made NFL History
1. Tom Brady
At 40 years old, people thought Brady was nearing the end—then he led the biggest Super Bowl comeback ever. Then, when the Patriots moved on, he went to Tampa Bay and won another Super Bowl, just for fun.
Read More: The 10 Most Inspirational Comeback Stories in NFL History
