Whatever jitters Damar Hamlin might have been feeling went away midway through the first quarter on Saturday, when he first heard the play call Blitz
York — Whatever jitters Bills safety Damar Hamlin might have been feeling went away midway through the first quarter on Saturday, when he first heard the play call: Blitz.
Four snaps into his first game in a competitive setting since a near-death experience on Jan, 2, Hamlin broke toward the line and stopped Indianapolis Colts running back Evan Hull for no gain on fourth-and-1 from the Buffalo 40.
« Yeah, man, it felt good. It for surely felt like a little weight off my shoulders, » Hamlin said following Buffalo’s 23-19 preseason-opening win. « Amazing. It just makes me feel like I’m back in that element. »
What seemed unfathomable in those frightening first moments when Hamlin went into cardiac arrest and needed to be resuscitated on the field during a game at Cincinnati in January, is closer to approaching reality in the 25-year-old’s bid to resume his playing career.
Hamlin showed no signs of hesitancy or trepidation in finishing with three tackles – the two others coming on consecutive snaps – in playing two-plus defensive series spanning the first and second quarters.
In doing so, he reached the latest and perhaps biggest milestone in a comeback that began with him returning to practice in May followed by enduring his first thud in the Bills’ first padded session of training camp two weeks ago.
« What we just witnessed, to me, is remarkable, » coach Sean McDermott said.
