Damar Hamlin Is Full Go At Buffalo Bills Opening Of Training Camp
It hasn't quite been seven months since Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin collapsed to the turf in Cincinnati after suffering a cardiac episode and knocking on death's door right there on national television.
And today?
"Damar Hamlin will be a full go at training camp and we're behind him 100 percent," Bills coach Sean McDermott announced on the first day of training camp practices. "We'll go at his cadence."
Hamlin donned his helmet and pranced onto the field at St. John Fisher University in Rochester moments later. It was if Josh Allen was streaming onto the field. It was if the team's biggest star had come out of the tunnel.
Hamlin Awaits Big Bills Preseason
Pretty inspiring, folks.
Having said that, some facts:
The Bills are not tackling a whole lot, if at all in training camp. They're not even in pads the first few days of training camp during their ramp-up period.
So it's not like Hamlin (or anybody else) is going to be rallying to the ball to bring down a ball carrier. That kind of physical exertion will have to wait.
It will, however, probably come at some point in the preseason.
The Bills play their first preseason game, and only home game of the preseason, against the Indianapolis Colts on Aug. 11.
Damar Hamlin got significant playing time as the Bills had injuries in the deep secondary in 2022. (Getty image).
Bills Expect Competition
And eventually, amid all the feel-good vibes of his return, Hamlin will be evaluated for more than just his ability to still be alive and seemingly once again pointed toward a long, healthy life.
He'll be judged on football. Is he the same player he was before that fateful Jan. 2 night in Cincinnati when he collapsed?
And, indeed, can he be better?
Because at age 25, Hamlin should be close to hitting his prime years as an NFL defensive back.
Hamlin, you must know, is not a starter for the Bills. He was starting late last season because Micah Hyde and Jordan Poyer were injured at various times, with Hyde missing most of the season after a neck injury.
Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin is seen outside the U.S. Capitol before a news conference on the Access to AEDs Act, which aims improve access to defibrillators in schools, on Wednesday, March 29, 2023. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Damar Hamlin Focus Must Be Football
Both are back to health.
So Hamlin will be competing this training camp as a backup against players such as Taylor Rapp, Dean Marlowe, Zayne Anderson and Jared Maydon. Most backup defensive back are prime candidates to play on special teams so Hamlin might have to join that competition as well.
You see what we did there?
We discussed Hamlin in context with football.
He's been before congress. Hamlin's been on TV awards shows. He's done national sit down interviews. But now it's going to be about football.
That is a victory for a man who was feared dead for a few moments nearly seven months ago.