Pittsford, N.Y. (WGR 550) – The Buffalo Bills had their first practice in pads on Monday at St. John Fisher University, but for safety Damar Hamlin, it meant a lot more.
"It’s another milestone," said Hamlin following Monday's practice. "We’ve been getting over hurdles just from everything as far as getting out of the hospital, to getting off of tubes, and all the way to running again. Not having oxygen all the way to OTAs, putting the helmet on, putting my cleats on, putting my gloves on, putting my mouthpiece in, putting shoulder pads on. It’s just another milestone in your journey.
"Some of these emotions will never leave, and I’ve been doing a good job of pushing myself to getting through these tough things. When in life do we get to encounter challenges like this, and overcome things like this, and being able to stand for so many good things? So to be able to be a chosen one, it a blessed space."
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It’s inconceivable to us as to how many hurdles Hamlin has had to get over.
"This is a super big hurdle," Hamlin said. "I pretty much lost my life playing this sport, so to come back and do it all over again, it’s all over the place. But I’m rooted in my faith, and I’m rooted in the love that I receive from my family, my teammates, and the love all around the world."
Being a professional football player, everything Hamlin does is pretty well-documented.
"Sometimes it’s like normal don’t exist, but to be able to do what I love again; my dad has been preaching just try to make everything as normal as possible, but it’s a unique situation and I will live with that forever," Hamlin said.
"I wish I could do this process under a rock and pop out whenever I felt like it's super, super duper, ready to be a Pro Bowler. But I think there’s power in being out here every day, and doing my process in front of the world."
The fans have been very loud during camp greeting the players as they come on and off the field, as well as during practice. Hamlin makes sure he interacts with the fans after every practice, because he wants to give back.
"They can pick you up from a bad day. You can go out there and have a super bad practice and go sign some autographs, and you’ll feel like you made a bunch of days again," Hamlin said.
"People carry those moments forever. I remember being a Pittsburgh kid and doing drills with [Steelers safety Troy] Polamalu, and getting signatures from players like that that I still got at my house at home. I still carry those moments with me, and that’s why every day, I go over there and show some love. There was so much love showed to me, and it’s still going."
Hamlin has been learning under veterans Micah Hyde and Jordan Poyer ever since he got to the Bills in 2021. Last year, because of injury, he had to step in for those guys, which is why he was on the field in Cincinnati when he went into his cardiac arrest.
There was a time where it was looking like maybe neither one of those veterans would be back, but Hamlin is sure glad they are.
"It means everything to me," he said. "Honestly, that’s how I know the Buffalo Bills and seeing them work together that’s like a sheet of music. There’s so much chemistry and so much connection that I learn so much about our defense, about the NFL, just watching them, and shape my game off of how they play the game within our system. It’s everything to me."
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Contact came to Hamlin during practice in the form of running back Damien Harris. Hamlin says if you play with fear during practice or a game, things will turn out worse.
"In football, you can’t hit that field with no hesitation. You put yourself in more danger, so I made the choice to play," he said.
"I’m not afraid to say that it crosses my mind to be a little scared here and there, but my faith is stronger than any fear."
Now this is football practice, and both sides of the ball want to win every drill. There has been a lot of trash talk that goes on, and Hamlin is happy to be a part of it
"Yes, we get it on," Hamlin said with a laugh. "We’ve been doing that since OTAs, but that’s just us pushing each other. We want to bring the best out of each other, and it’s a competitive place here. But that’s the culture that [head coach Sean] McDermott created, and we just all fall under it."
Hamlin and the Bills will be back on the practice field at St. John Fisher on Tuesday at 9:45 a.m. ET.
