Bills’ Damar Hamlin to start season opener vs. Cardinals

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — A year after making the cut to successfully resume his football career following a near-death experience, Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin reached a new plateau in his comeback in being selected a season-opening starter on Wednesday.

Coach Sean McDermott announced the news by saying Hamlin will be paired with Taylor Rapp when the Bills take the field in hosting the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday.

“What else can’t this young man do?” McDermott said, proudly.

“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, right, let alone just decide to play contact football. … I mean, it’s incredible,” he added. “We’re just extremely proud and full of gratitude to watch him go through what he’s went through and where he is now.”

The fourth-year player was hardly assured of winning a starting job, even with both spots being open after Buffalo released Jordan Poyer in March and with Micah Hyde still unsigned and contemplating retirement. The Bills signed fifth-year player Mike Edwards in free agency and then used a second-round pick to draft Cole Bishop.

Edwards and Bishop, however, have missed significant time because of injuries, and McDermott credited Hamlin for showing consistency and building an on-field rapport with Rapp.

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.

He was limited to appearing in just five games in a backup and special teams role last season. In 2022, Hamlin enjoyed his most playing time in starting 13 games in place of Hyde, who was sidelined by a neck injury.

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

“My mind is free. My spirit is free. My soul is free,” Hamlin told The Associated Press last month. “I’m able to think clearly. I’m not hindered by second thoughts of what could maybe happen again.”

Hamlin is from the Pittsburgh area and was selected by Buffalo in the sixth round of the 2021 draft out of Pitt.