Damar Hamlin, the Buffalo Bills safety whose heart stopped during a prime time game in January, has been cleared to return to football activities, Bills General Manager Brandon Beane announced Tuesday.
Beane said that three specialists on Friday unanimously cleared Hamlin to resume practicing and that he was in the team’s facility this week for the start of the Bills’ off-season training program.
“He is of the mind-set, he’s in a great head space to come back and make his return,” Beane said in a news conference on Tuesday.
Hamlin, 25, received lifesaving care after undergoing cardiac arrest on the field in the first quarter of the Bills’ game against the Bengals in Cincinnati on Jan. 2. He collapsed to the field after attempting a routine tackle on receiver Tee Higgins, who lowered his head into Hamlin’s chest. After the tackle, Hamlin rose and took two steps before falling to the ground.
Medical professionals administered CPR to Hamlin and attended to him for 10 minutes as players from both teams were visibly upset, some shedding tears on the sideline while others circled together and knelt in prayer. Hamlin was revived on the field and then rushed him to a Cincinnati hospital, where he spent nearly a week in the intensive care unit. He was later transported to a hospital in Buffalo to continue his recovery.
In the days after the collapse, Hamlin received an outpouring of support, with more than 200,000 people donating more than $9 million to a toy drive Hamlin had previously established on a GoFundMe page. A representative for Hamlin has said the money will go to Hamlin’s charitable foundation.
Hamlin’s agent, Ira Turner, in a brief interview Tuesday said that Hamlin did not need to sign a special waiver or complete any additional contractual steps to return to play. The Bills placed Hamlin on the injured reserve list while he rehabbed. Turner said Hamlin has continued to work out and is in “great” shape.
“He’s ready, he’s excited,” Turner said. “I’m sure there are nerves there as with anything but he’s ready to go.”
