The Buffalo Bills’ Damar Hamlin has now been cleared to go back to playing football after recovering from near death during a game last year.
Bills general manager Brandon Beane told reporters on Tuesday that Hamlin has been “fully cleared” to reclaim his place on the team as the NFL’s offseason activities begin.
Hamlin himself told the media that he intends to keep his career on track, saying, “I don’t want to be done yet,” the New York Post reported.
Beane added that they took Hamlin to three specialists to ensure he was fit for the gridiron.
Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin (3) signals an incomplete pass in the second quarter of an NFL game between the Buffalo Bills and Kansas City Chiefs on October 16, 2022, at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, MO. (Scott Winters/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
“They’re all in agreement — it’s not two to one or three to one or anything like that — they’re all in lockstep of what this was and that he is cleared to resume full activities just like anyone else that was coming back from an injury,” the coach added.
“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,” Beane said.
Hamlin, 25, collapsed from a cardiac arrest during the first quarter of a game against the Cincinnati Bengals in Cincy on Jan. 2.
The team’s medical technician delivered CPR that saved the player’s life there on the field before he was removed on a stretcher. According to reports, he had to be resuscitated once more before being stabilized at a Cincinnati hospital.
Hamlin lay in a coma in critical condition for several days, but soon began making a speedy recovery. He had already made his first public comment less than a week after his collapse.
Buffalo Bills fan Dustin Peters attends a candlelight vigil for Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center on January 03, 2023, in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Jeff Dean/Getty Images)
Since being released from the hospital on Jan. 11, nine days after his collapse, Hamlin has been working to restore his health to NFL standards.
Before his collapse, Hamlin was having a very good year. He finished third in tackles for the team with 91. He was also T9 in sacks and T2 in forced fumbles, according to Greg Vorse.
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Facebook at: facebook.com/Warner.Todd.Huston, or Truth Social @WarnerToddHuston