Bills’ Damar Hamlin ‘cleared’ and ‘working out’ to make NFL return

Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin has been “cleared” physically by specialists to make his NFL return and is already “working out” with the team, GM Brandon Beane said Tuesday morning.

“Damar is prepared to come back and play,” Beane told reporters at his pre-draft press conference. “He’s fully cleared, he’s here, and he is of the mindset, he’s in a great headspace to come back and make his return.”

Bills trainers and Cincinnati doctors saved Hamlin’s life when he went into cardiac arrest on Jan. 2 during a game between the Bills and Bengals that was ultimately canceled.

Beane was at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center with Hamlin and his family when the worst was still a possibility. He marveled at the progress Hamlin has made since then.

“Such a great kid, such a great family,” Beane said. “It’s exciting to go from a guy who was fighting for his life to who is now, his story hasn’t been written. Now it’s about the comeback.

“It was all about his health, and it’s always gonna be about his health,” Beane added. “But to be talking about however many months later that he’s fully cleared is pretty remarkable. And I’m excited for him and his family, where they are [on] this journey.”

Hamlin gave a glimpse of this possibility in a recent visit to the White House when President Joe Biden asked him if he would be able to play football again.

“Yeah, I think so,” Hamlin told Biden in the Oval Office. “God willing.”

Hamlin, 25, then received clearances from several specialists to confirm his optimism.

“When he left Cincinnati, came here and was at Buffalo General, he saw a couple of specialists here in Buffalo,” Beane said, describing the road back. “And since then, he’s seen three additional specialists, most recently on Friday.

“And they’re all in agreement,” Beane continued. “It’s not two to one, or three to one, or anything like that. They’re all in lock step of what this was and that he is cleared, resumed full activities, just like anyone else who was coming back from an injury or whatever.”

Beane said head athletic trainer Nate Breske went with Hamlin on all of his trips and specialist visits to make sure the Bills were hearing all of the specialists’ diagnoses firsthand, and all findings were communicated to the team’s medical doctors.

But he said the Bills ultimately were “following [the specialists’] lead,” rather than having their medical staff in position to overrule them, because of Hamlin’s specialized case.

“This is something, it’s new,” Beane said. “It’s not something we’re used to.”

So Hamlin is cleared and working out in a remarkable turnaround from that horrifying night in January. And Beane promised he’ll receive support for the mental challenges, not just the physical work, that is required for him to fully overcome and return.

“That’s a huge part,” Beane said. “Any time you’re coming back from any injury, much less something that is life-threatening, that’s always an ongoing type thing. And we’ll put all the resources he needs for that [in place].”

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