The Bills have released their depth chart for week 1 of the NFL season, with Damar Hamlin listed as starting safety for the first time since suffering a cardiac arrest in 2023.
Damar Hamlin Returns As Starter
Damar Hamlin has endured a tough road to recovery over the past year, with the Bills safety slowly making his return to action after suffering from a cardiac arrest in January 2023.
Bills head coach Sean McDermott announced this week that Hamlin would be starting centre for Buffalo in their week 1 matchup against the Arizona Cardinals.
“What else can’t this young man do?”
Coach McDermott named Damar Hamlin a starting safety for the season opener: https://t.co/anI07sV077 pic.twitter.com/y4iW7mZiYp
— Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) September 4, 2024
Hamlin looked back on his difficult year on Wednesday, saying that it is a ‘blessing’ for him to return in week 1 as the starting safety for the Bills.
“It’s truly a blessing,” Hamlin told reporters after practice.
“I reflect back on the whole process and not knowing if I would be able to play again. … Sitting with that uncertainty was eating at me because football is truly my passion. It’s the thing that I’ve always been obsessed with my entire life…
“It all just goes to the power of being process oriented and taking things one day at a time and accepting where you are at each moment of the process.”
Hamlin hasn’t started a game for the Bills since his cardiac arrest, with the incident shocking the NFL world during a game against the Cincinnati Bengals in January 2023.
There was fears that Hamlin would never be able to walk again shortly after the tragedy at Paycor Stadium – so for the 26-year-old to be able to start again for the Bills is some miracle.
Hamlin hasn’t been without practice or game time during the last year though and he returned to the field for the Bills at the end of last season, playing five games towards the end of the year.
