Nearly seven months after he suffered a cardiac arrest in the middle of a game, Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin has made another step in his return.
Before the team conducted its first practice of training camp Wednesday, head coach Sean McDermott said that Hamlin, 25, will be unrestricted, but that Buffalo will be measured and take its cues from Hamlin for levels of participation.
“With Damar’s situation, like I mentioned in the spring, he has our full support, and always will,” McDermott told reporters Wednesday. “We’ll continue to take it one day at a time, and we’ll go at his cadence. At this point, he’s full-go and we’ll take it one day at a time, so I think that’s the best approach.”
This comes after Hamlin was cleared in April to return to football activities; he participated in organized team activities in June.
The Bills social media account posted a video of Hamlin walking through the tunnel and then jogging onto the field ahead of Wednesday’s practice at St. John Fisher University in Rochester, New York., where the team holds its training camp.
Hamlin collapsed in the first quarter of a Jan. 2 game against the Cincinnati Bengals, which was temporarily suspended then subsequently postponed. His heartbeat was restored on the field before he was transferred to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center and was placed in critical condition.
While he lay on the field, Hamlin was treated with CPR and an AED and placed on a stretcher before being transported to the hospital.
After he continued to make significant progress, Hamlin was released from the hospital nine days after the incident.
Hamlin is entering his third season in the NFL after Buffalo selected him out of Pittsburgh in the sixth round of the 2021 NFL draft. He started 13 games last season for the Bills, recording 91 tackles, 1.5 sacks and one forced fumble.
