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Damar Hamlin to make first start for Buffalo since cardiac arrest

Hamlin has not started for the Bills since January 2023

Written by Jon Fisher
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Damar Hamlin to make first start for Buffalo since cardiac arrest

Damar Hamlin will make his first start for the Buffalo Bills this weekend since he suffered cardiac arrest in January 2023.

Hamlin collapsed against the Cincinnati Bengals on Monday Night Football 20 months ago and, although he appeared in five games last season, this will be his first as a starter.

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Bills coach Sean McDermott said: “What else can’t this young man do? He basically went through what he went through on the field, you guys have written about that over and over, and to come back from that.

“It’s one thing to come back off of an ACL or a broken bone. It’s another thing to come back off of what he came back off of, right? Let alone just to decide to play football and contact football in full pads at the NFL level.”

Hamlin will line up at safety alongside Taylor Rapp when the Bills host the Arizona Cardinals in Week 1 on Sunday, capitalizing on the fact Micah Hyde and Jordan Poyer are no longer on the roster. 

“I think it’s consistency and opportunity,” McDermott added after Hamlin impressed during preseason. “The opportunity that was there, he took advantage of it and was consistent. (He) built a certain level of rapport with T-Rapp, and that’s important as well at the safety position.”

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