Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin made the roll call for the start of offseason workouts and is fully cleared to participate in all football activities.
“I’ve been on a journey, and I’ve seen some of the top professionals available. This event was life-changing, but it’s not the end of my story,” Hamlin said Tuesday. “My heart is still in it. … I just want to show people that you can keep going in something without having the answers, without knowing what’s at the end of the tunnel. You keep putting the right foot in front of the left one. I want to stand for that.
“I follow my heart. I let my heart walk in the room before me.”
Hamlin’s remarkable return comes just four months after he went into cardiac arrest on the field in the Bills’ Jan. 2 game at Cincinnati.
“He’s seen three additional specialists, most recently on Friday, and they are all in agreement — not 2-1, or 3-1 or anything like that — they’re all in lockstep of what this was and that he’s cleared to resume full activity just like anyone else who is coming back from an injury or whatever,” Bills general manager Brandon Beane said Tuesday. “He’s fully cleared. He’s here, and he’s in a great head space to come back and make his return.”
While still in the hospital five days after the on-field incident, Hamlin said he watched football and other safeties play and realized he still had a strong love for the game and wanted to return to the field.
Hamlin, 25, said his most recent medical appointment was last week and ended with his physician pushing him to play again for mental health reasons.
“It’s a rollercoaster of emotions,” he said. “I have the right people in my corner. I trust them.”
Hamlin insisted he is taking it “one day at a time” and downplayed his presence at the team facility, saying “we’re just working out.” He called his experience emotional and doesn’t believe he will be able to grasp the full perspective of being back on the field in a game situation until it happens. Physically, Hamlin said he is building back up from zero.
“I’m just trying to figure out the best way to repay it. I’ve been beating statistics my whole life,” Hamlin said. “Some people might say coming back to play isn’t my best option. But I’ve been beating statistics my whole life.”
Hamlin said Tuesday he specifically experienced “commotio cordis” which is a direct blow to the heart resulting in loss of heartbeat.
“The wow moment is just being able to wake up, take deep breaths, to have a family around me and people that support me,” Hamlin said. “And for them to still have me around. I died on national TV.”
Hamlin said the day before the Super Bowl in February that he was headed in the right direction and wasn’t planning to pause his NFL dreams.
After losing consciousness on the field, the Bills’ medical and training staff gave him CPR. He was rushed to the hospital and the University of Cincinnati medical staff was shocked by his rapid recovery.
During his hospitalization and the two weeks after, Hamlin said his foundation that raises money for a community toy drive received more than $9 million in donations. The non-profit started in 2020 as a GoFundMe campaign seeking $2,500 for a toy drive.
“It’s been wonderful,” Hamlin said. “To see the world see the good I was trying to do before the notoriety, for that to be acknowledged was a wonderful feeling. I plan to save a generation. That’s what my dad did for me. Me and my friends, he wanted to get us out of our environment. … Keep us active, keep us off the streets.”
Hamlin said in February he was committed to educating the public on the merits of CPR training and life-saving techniques, partnering with the American Heart Association on a national program to provide free tutorials and videos on emergency breathing and defibrillator use.
A sixth-round pick by Buffalo in 2021, Hamlin has recorded 93 tackles, 1.5 sacks and four passes defensed in 29 games (13 starts) with the Bills.
–Field Level Media
