Here’s the basic outline: While the criteria for the award is imprecise, it is typically given to a player who shows perseverance in overcoming adversity from not being able to play the previous season, such as an injury, or for playing well in comparison to the previous year’s poor performance. If a player can come back from such adversity or play at a high level over the previous year, they will usually be favored to win the award. ...
Okay, smart guy, you may be asking once again… what did Smith actually come back from?
In August, 2015, Smith was involved in an altercation with Jets defensive end IK Enemkpali, which prevented Smith from starting the season. Ryan Fitzpatrick started that season strong, so new head coach Todd Bowles decided to keep Fitzpatrick in that role, even when Smith returned.
Smith didn’t get his next legitimate chance to start for the Jets until Week 7 of the 2016 season against the Baltimore Ravens. He suffered a torn ACL in that game, was lost for the rest of the season, and that was the end of his time with the Jets.
Smith signed with the New York Giants before the 2017 season, and outside of a weird time when he replaced Eli Manning as the team’s starter for a short time (this made him the first Black quarterback to start for the Giants, and it meant that every NFL team had finally had a Black starting quarterback at any time in their histories), he was seemingly doomed forever to the role of backup. That extended through his time with the San Diego Chargers in 2018, when he completed one pass on four attempts for eight yards.
Smith then signed with the Seahawks before the 2019 season, and competed with Paxton Lynch for the job of backup behind Russell Wilson. He was actually released and re-signed at one point, and didn’t take a single snap with Seattle that season. ...