Damar Hamlin Cleared To Return To Football Just Months After Cardiac Arrest

By Michelle Butterfield, Globalnews.ca. Published: 18 Apr 2023 1:16 PM

FILE - Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin (31) celebrates a win following an NFL football game against the New England Patriots, Dec. 26, 2021, in Foxborough, Mass. Hamlin was released from a Buffalo hospital on Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2023, more than a week after he went into cardiac arrest and had to be resuscitated during a game at Cincinnati, after his doctors said they completed a series of tests. — Stew Milne / The Associated Press

Damar Hamlin, in a monumental medical comeback, has been cleared to return to football.

The 25-year-old safety for the Buffalo Bills went into cardiac arrest on the field on Jan. 2 as his squad faced off against the Cincinnati Bengals. He was given on-field life-saving measures, including CPR, before being transported to hospital.

Hamlin collapsed on the field after being struck in the chest by Bengals receiver Tee Higgins while making what appeared to be a routine tackle during the first quarter.

He spent two days in hospital under sedation before being awakened. Within days of the incident, he was addressing his teammates via video conference — a recovery the doctors called “remarkable.”

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Now, Hamlin is set to return to the field.

“He is fully cleared. He’s here,” Bills general manager Brandon Beane revealed during a press conference Tuesday morning. “He’s in a great headspace to make his return.”

#Bills GM Brandon Beane says Damar Hamlin saw his last specialist on Friday and all specialists that he has seen are in agreement that he is CLEARED and can resume FULL ACTIVITIES just like anyone else coming back from injury

— Maddy Glab (@MadGlab) April 18, 2023

Beane told reporters Hamlin is now in Buffalo and is participating in the team’s voluntary offseason workouts, which began Monday.

According to the Buffalo Bills website, Hamlin met with President Joe Biden last month and told Biden he planned to return to football.

Damar Hamlin’s courage, resilience, and spirit inspired the American people.

And what's more: he turned recovery into action – and our country is better for it.

It was my honor to have him and his family here today. pic.twitter.com/xju70wnAzl

— President Biden (@POTUS) March 30, 2023

The team reports that Hamlin has been working with three specialists to plan his return and that all three “are in agreement that Hamlin has cleared the necessary protocols to receive clearance to begin football activities.”

A sixth-round pick out of Pittsburgh in 2021, Hamlin has appeared in 29 games over two NFL seasons.