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Buffalo Bills' Damar Hamlin cleared for football after cardiac arrest

Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin, who won the NFLPA Alan Page Community Award in February, is cleared for football activities. File photo by John Angelillo/UPI
1 of 5 | Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin, who won the NFLPA Alan Page Community Award in February, is cleared for football activities. File photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo

April 18 (UPI) -- Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin, who went into cardiac arrest on the field during a game against the Cincinnati Bengals, is cleared to resume full football activities, general manager Brandon Beane told reporters Tuesday.

Beane and Bills coach Sean McDermott held the news conference to talk about the upcoming 2023 NFL Draft and other off-season plans.

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"He is cleared to resume full activity, just like anyone else who is coming back from an injury," Beane said. "He is fully cleared. He is here. He is of the mindset and in a great headspace to come back and make his return."

Beane said Hamlin is working out with teammates in Orchard Park, N.Y. Bills players were allowed to report to the team facility Monday for their off-season program.

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Hamlin, 25, collapsed and went into cardiac arrest in the first half of the Bills' game against the Bengals on Jan. 2 in Cincinnati. He spent more than a week in hospitals in Cincinnati and Buffalo before he was released.

"Damar saw his last specialist on Friday," Beane said. "When he left Cincinnati and came here at Buffalo General, he saw a couple of specialists.

"Since then, he has seen three additional specialists, most recently on Friday. They are all in agreement [he can return] -- it's not 2 to 1 or 3 to 1 or anything like that -- and are in lock step of what this was."

Thom Mayer, the medical director for the NFL Players Association, told SiriusXM in February that it was a "guarantee" Hamlin would eventually return to professional football.

In February, the NFL Players Association presented Hamlin with the 2023 Alan Page Community Award. He received that honor for raising more than $9 million through his Chasing M's Foundation Community Toy Drive GoFundMe page.

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Donations to the fundraiser exploded after his on-field collapse and throughout his hospital stay.

"I plan to never take this position for granted and to always have an urgent approach in making a difference in the community where I come from and also communities across the world," Hamlin said at his Alan Page Community Award presentation Feb. 8 in Phoenix.

Hamlin entered the league as a sixth-round pick by the Bills in the 2021 NFL Draft. The former Pittsburgh defender totaled 91 combine tackles, six tackles for a loss, three quarterback hits, two passes defensed, 1.5 sacks and a forced fumble in 15 appearances last season.

"He is such a great kid from such a great family," Beane said. "It's exciting [for] a guy who was fighting for his life. His story hasn't been written. Now it's about the comeback.

"It will always be about his health. However many months later, to be talking about him being fully cleared is pretty remarkable. I'm excited for him and his family and where they are in this journey."

Hamlin is under contract through 2024. He is expected to be a backup to strong safety Jordan Poyer in 2023. Micah Hyde is expected to start at free safety. Taylor Rapp, Jared Mayden, Cam Lewis and Zayne Anderson are among the other players on the Bills' roster at safety.

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Beane said he "feels good" about the safety position when asked about the Bills' depth at his news conference. He also said the Bills could still draft a safety later this month

The 2023 NFL Draft will be held from April 27 to 29 in Kansas City, Mo. The Bills have the No. 27 overall pick in the first round.

Buffalo Bills' Damar Hamlin suffers cardiac arrest on Monday Night Football

Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin (3) tackles the Cincinnati Bengals' Tee Higgins (85) during the first quarter of Monday Night Football at Paycor Stadium in Cincinnati on January 2. Hamlin was injured on the play, suffering cardiac arrest. Photo by John Sommers II/UPI | License Photo

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