ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Damar Hamlin's Buffalo Bills teammates are thrilled to have their 25-year-old safety back in the building participating in voluntary offseason workouts, just three and a half months after he suffered cardiac arrest in the Bills' Week 17 game against the Cincinnati Bengals.
Hamlin announced Tuesday afternoon that he plans to make his return to the NFL next season after doctors fully cleared him to participate in football activities just days beforehand.
"Right when this thing happened, that was his mindset from the very start, was 'I'm gonna play again,'" quarterback Josh Allen said. "You're never gonna doubt a guy like that who's had a lot of adversity in his life... This is just another obstacle that he's been able to get around and push forward... He's a heck of a football player, and we love having him back."
Allen said he hadn't gotten a chance to give Hamlin a 'big ole hug' yet when he spoke after Tuesday's workout, since the offense and defense typically train at different times, but said it's been great to have him back in the building.
“D-Ham is a special person, a beautiful soul,” safety Micah Hyde said. “I look up to him, especially how he’s bounced back after facing adversity. A little scary, but to see him well and in the building and move around a little bit, gives you a little energy.”
Hyde joked that he and fellow veteran safety Jordan Poyer have messed around with Hamlin - who recently visited with President Joe Biden at the White House - to hook them up.
"He's used the platform that he's had from the exposure from everything that has happened, and he's used that for good," edge rusher Von Miller said. "He's been to the White House. He's talking to kids like he has taken full advantage of the opportunity that God has given him."
"Every time I've seen him, man, it's just like this warm feeling that you get in your heart, that God is real and God is good. And you know he's continuing to bless Damar."