Damar Hamlin is close to completing his long-anticipated recovery from the chest injury that induced cardiac arrest. Nearly seven months after that scary scene, the Bills announced the inspirational safety will be 100% as the team starts training camp.
This has been the expectation for a while now. Hamlin did not begin OTAs on time but participated in Buffalo’s minicamp. Sean McDermott said the team will “go at his cadence” regarding the final steps on this journey back to full health. Hamlin began camp work with his teammates Wednesday.
Hamlin, 25, initially received full clearance back in April, making a major stride in his recovery from a hospitalization and breathing through a ventilator in Cincinnati to being back with his teammates in uniform. The collision with Tee Higgins induced commotio cordis, an extremely rare condition that emerges after chest trauma produces waves of electricity that can alter heart rhythm. He has made remarkable strides in the months since.
Training camp will mark another key hurdle for the third-year safety, with the Bills not ticketed to don shoulder pads until August. How Hamlin fares in contact work will be a storyline to follow during Bills camp, but considering how the Pittsburgh alum has responded thus far on his comeback trail, the expectation will be a spot on the team’s 53-man roster and a role in Week 1.
The Bills needed Hamlin to replace Micah Hyde for much of last season, but with Hyde back and Jordan Poyer re-signing in March, Hamlin returning to a backup role appears likely. The Bills also re-signed Dean Marlowe and added ex-Rams starter Taylor Rapp, giving the team one of the better safety depth charts any NFL team has featured in recent memory.
Hamlin practicing in training camp will prevent the Bills from stashing him on the reserve/PUP list to start the season. Two years remain on Hamlin’s rookie contract.
Additionally, the injury Nyheim Hines suffered this week is an ACL tear, Albert Breer of SI.com notes. The Bills placed Hines on their non-football injury list Tuesday. The 2022 trade acquisition was sitting stationary on a jet ski when another rider crashed into him. The NFI placement puts Hines’ $4.1MM base salary up in the air, since the Bills are not obligated to pay the veteran back due to the injury being sustained away from team grounds. Hines’ agent sent out a message calling for the Bills to pay his client (Twitter link).
Great return story. For whatever medical reason he was difibulated twice before getting to a hospital. Once on the field which is unheard of. He was defibed a second time enroute to the hospital. (For Biden brain: The players heart stopped and he was no longer breathing).
For anyone that has performed or even witnessed a person near death you’ll never forget it. Ive never heard of anyone dieing from an ACL injury but I guess perspective doesn’t apply? You want to rethink your comparison?
I’m not sure how this affects the Bills’ cap, but I know the league fully guaranteed Hamlin’s rookie contract and offered to pay it at the time of the injury.
What happens if he has another heart attack in the middle of a game? I know it was considered a ‘freak accident’ but if it happens again the league cannot let the guy continue playing.
The Bills do not owe Hines any money for his OFF THE FIELD injury. That injury is on him, not the Bills. If another person is responsible for his injury he could try getting a lawyer and suing the person for his pain and loss of wages. Why would the Bills pay for someone else’s mistake? Hines’ agent is obviously desperate to make such a demand.
Bills should just cut Hines & move on. Agent sent out message calling on Bills to pay him….pay who Hines or the agent?? That’s the chance you take when playing weekend warrior
He’s a fringe player that would find it he’d to make the roster in a perfect world. Coming off a near death experience on the field, he should retire and take the payday, then get into the game in a different way.
*Hard, not he’d
That’s what she said