Orchard Park, N.Y. (WGR 550) - "This event was life-changing, but it's not the end of my story. I'm here to announce that I plan on making a comeback to the NFL."
In an emotional and powerful meeting with the media on Tuesday at One Bills Drive, Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin made his intentions about his future very clear.
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After collapsing on the field in Cincinnati during a "Monday Night Football" matchup with the Bengals on Jan. 2, Hamlin is ready and able to resume his football career with the Bills.
"Over these last few months, I've been on a journey, and I've seen some of the top professionals across the country. Their answers to me were all the same," he said, confirming that his diagnosis was Commotio Cordis.
"It's a direct blow at a specific point in your heartbeat that causes cardiac arrest, and 5-to-7 seconds later, you fall out."
Hamlin said Commotio Cordis is the leading cause of death in youth athletes across all sports, which is why he will continue to personally be part of helping bring awareness to it across the nation, as well as CPR training and access to AEDs.
Hamlin, who entered the NFL as a sixth-round pick of the Bills in 2021 out of the University of Pittsburgh, played 29 games for the club over two years, starting 13 of them, all last season, including the night he collapsed.
He is still on the Bills' active roster and, earlier in the day, general manager Brandon Beane confirmed Hamlin has been fully cleared by all of his doctors to resume playing.
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That's exactly what the team and Hamlin plan on happening, and why he's already joined his teammates for offseason workouts.
"My heart is still in it," the 25-year old said about playing football. "My heart is still in the game. I love the game. It's something I want to prove to myself, not nobody else. I just want to show people that fear is a choice, that you can keep doing something without having the answers, without knowing what's at the end of the tunnel. You might feel anxious. You might feel any type of way, but you just keep putting that right foot in front of the left one and you keep going. I want to stand for that."
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