Damar Hamlin works out with Bills during OTAs
Damar Hamlin has taken another incredible step in his journey back to the NFL. This week, the Buffalo Bills safety was back on the field with his teammates for OTAs.
WGRZ’s J.T. Messinger captured footage of Hamlin’s return to the field on Tuesday. He participated in individual drills, but did not wear a helmet. Messinger pointed out that it was essentially the only difference between the safety and anyone else out on the field.
Hamlin’s return comes five months after suffering cardiac arrest on the field during a Monday Night Football game between the Bills and Bengals. His road to recovery has been one of the most remarkable in sports.
Video of Hamlin on the field this week counters what Bills head coach Sean McDermott said regarding his status. He said the safety “has not been practicing” but is “in the building working.”
“We’re just going to continue to take it one day at a time,” McDermott said, per CNN. “And just support Damar in every way possible.”
Damar Hamlin cleared to return to team
It seems almost impossible that Hamlin is back on the football field with his teammates. The 25-year-old nearly lost his life in January, but thanks to the quick response from medical personnel, has made an incredibly quick recovery.
Last month, Bills general manager Brandon Beane revealed the news that Hamlin would be able to resume football activities.
”They’re (doctors) all in agreement — it’s not two to one or three to one or anything like that — they’re all in lockstep of what this was and that he is cleared to resume full activities just like anyone else that was coming back from an injury,” Beane told reporters. “He’s fully cleared. He’s here. And he is of the mindset — he’s in a great headspace — to come back and make his return.”
Hamlin was selected in the sixth round of the 2021 NFL Draft out of Pitt. The 2022 season was just his second in the league. During his time in Buffalo, the safety has accounted for 93 tackles and four passes defended.
Earlier this year, Hamlin’s teammate, Stefon Diggs, reflected on the frightening moment in Cincinnati.
“I’ve had many experiences with death, with my family and my friends,” Diggs said in an interview with Uninterrupted. “I try to detach myself mentally to a certain extent. But in that situation it was kind of in and out, it was so inconsistent like.
“He came to (then) he went. You know what I’m saying? You saw, nobody else (watching on TV) saw, but we saw (the heart monitor) flatline. Swear to God. Saw it flatline twice. So it flatlined, they shocked him and he came back. And everybody was like, it was a movie. It was such a moment … I don’t know.”