Damar Hamlin returns to starting spot he held before collapse on field

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (WIVB) — Damar Hamlin’s remarkable comeback story continues into the start of a new NFL season with a return to the position he held in the Buffalo Bills secondary before his heart-stopping setback on the football field less than two years ago.

Hamlin will start Buffalo’s opening game Sunday at home against the Arizona Cardinals. It will be the fourth-year safety’s first start for the Bills since Jan. 2, 2023, the night in Cincinnati when Hamlin collapsed and went into cardiac arrest after making a tackle.

“Truly a blessing,” Hamlin said Wednesday.

“I reflect back on the whole process and me not knowing if I would even be able to play again,” he added. “Last season was primarily just about healing and making myself do the hard stuff, thrusting myself into things that were uncomfortable, that made me fearful or gave me anxiety. But I was doing the hard stuff last year to make it easier this year.”

Whether by design or chance, Hamlin sat at the interview table wearing a green pullover with the words “Don’t Quit” printed on the front.

“It aligns with who I am,” he said.

“What else can’t this young man do?” coach Sean McDermott awed Wednesday after the Bills released their first depth chart of the regular season. “It’s one thing to come back off of an ACL or a broken bone, it’s another thing to come back off of what he came back off of.”

“Let alone just to decide to play football and contact football, right?,” McDermott said. “In full pads at the NFL level. I don’t think I need to say anything more. I mean, it’s incredible.”

Hamlin appeared in five games for the Bills last season as a backup defender and special teams contributor. Hamlin’s return to the starting role he held for 13 games two seasons ago has been building since spring practices and through training camp, with secondary stalwarts Jordan Poyer and Micah Hyde no longer on the roster, and with injuries to free agent acquisition Mike Edwards and second-round draft pick Cole Bishop.

The promotion for the 26-year-old Hamlin comes some 20 months since he went into cardiac arrest, after making what appeared to be a routine tackle, and needed to be resuscitated on the field during a game at Cincinnati. He then spent two days in the hospital in a medically induced coma before finally being awakened while surrounded by his family.

Doctors diagnosed the cause of Hamlin’s heart stopping as a result of commotio cordis, which happens when a direct blow at a specific point in a heartbeat causes cardiac arrest. Cleared for practice and assured by specialists the chances of a recurrence being slim, Hamlin was gradually eased back into football.

After experiencing trepidation during his comeback last year, Hamlin acknowledged he was able to focus more on football this year.

It wasn’t easy, Hamlin said, but worth it in acknowledging he often reflects back on what happened.

“I think about it all the time. As much as the world experienced it, it happened to me,” Hamlin said. “I enjoy that part of it because it allows me to stay connected with the reason why I’m here … and I have a second chance at doing things the right way in all areas of my life.”

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Jonah Bronstein joined the WIVB squad in 2022 as a digital sports reporter. The Buffalonian has covered the Bills, Sabres, Bandits, Bisons, colleges, high schools and other notable sporting events in Western New York since 2005, for publications including The Associated Press, The Buffalo News, and Niagara Gazette. Read more of his work here .

The Associated Press contributed reporting.