A notable name has moved to the top of the Buffalo Bills' Week 1 depth chart. Damar Hamlin, the team's veteran safety who had a near-death experience during a regular-season game, will start in Buffalo's season opener against the Arizona Cardinals after moving to the top of the Bills' depth chart.
It's been a remarkable climb back to the top for the 26-year-old Hamlin, whose life was altered after he suffered cardiac arrest after making a tackle against the Cincinnati Bengals in January of 2023. He immediately collapsed and was taken care of by the team's medical staff, who restored his heartbeat on the field before he was lifted on a stretcher and into an ambulance.
Hamlin spent the next week at the UC Medical Center. Roughly 48 hours after going into cardiac arrest, Hamlin began communicating with his medical team via handwriting as he was still on a ventilator. "Who won the game?" was one of the first things Hamlin asked his doctors.
"It's not only that the lights are on, but we know he's home," Hamlin's doctors said the following Thursday.
Hamlin's improvement, deemed as "remarkable" by his doctors, allowed him to be discharged after a week as he continued to get treatment in Buffalo. Hamlin was cleared to return to football four months after the incident.
Hamlin did not start a game last season while appearing in just five games, but the fact that he was playing football at all was a massive achievement in its own right. He was activated for the first time when the Bills hosted the Dolphins on October 1.
Hamlin has clearly created a bigger role for himself this season, as he is slated to start on Sunday for the first time since Buffalo's matchup with Cincinnati in Week 17 of the 2022 season. And while other stories will likely dominate the day, Hamlin's first start is worthy of praise, as it is a testament of his unyielding drive to keep his dream of playing professional football alive.
