There was a time not too long ago when many assumed we'd seen the last of Richie Incognito.
The veteran guard had been the face of the Dolphins' embarrassing locker room bullying scandal of 2012, a Ted Wells investigation revealing Incognito to be the ringleader of extensive harassment against former teammate Jonathan Martin. It was a very bad look.
Incognito was out of football for 18 months when the Buffalo Bills called him up last offseason. New Bills coach Rex Ryan has never been afraid to hand out second chances, and Incognito was once a Pro Bowl guard with the Dolphins. The Bills took a shot.
Incognito has rewarded that faith with perhaps the best season of his nine-year career. His steady performance -- along with the solid play of Eric Wood and Cordy Glenn -- has been a key factor behind LeSean McCoy's return to form in recent weeks. ProFootballFocus.com, a website that tracks every down in its grading of players, ranks Incognito as the second-best guard in football this season, trailing only Ravens standout Marshal Yanda.
"He's had better guard play this year than I've seen scouting him for the last five or six years," Bills general manager Doug Whaley said in a recent radio interview, per the Bills' team site. "He's impressed all of us, and I would say ... he should be a candidate for Comeback Player of the Year. He has to be mentioned as a top five guard in the league."
Incognito, 31, agrees his game is in a positive place right now.
"I'm playing good football right now. I'm playing sound. I'm playing physical. This is by far the best football of my career."
Could Incognito actually win Comeback Player of the Year? We're not sure how keen the NFL would be to that idea, though everybody likes a redemption tale. With one month to go in the season, Incognito looks to be exactly that.