Damar Hamlin, the focus of national prayer just months ago, fully cleared for football return

Damar Hamlin has been cleared by doctors to resume all football activities just three months after a cardiac event nearly took his life.

The Buffalo Bills’ safety got the green light to get back on the field after three independent specialists examined him and unanimously agreed it was safe to return to football. Hamlin participated in voluntary workouts with the team last week.

“He’s seen three additional specialists, most recently on Friday, and they’re all in agreement. It’s not two-to-one, or three-to-one. They’re all in lockstep of what this was and that he is cleared to resume full activities, just like anyone else who is coming back from an injury or whatever,” Bills General Manager Brandon Beane said in an announcement last week.

After suffering cardiac arrest, receiving CPR, and leaving the field in an ambulance on national TV during a Monday Night Football broadcast, Hamlin was thankful just to survive. The entire nation prayed for Hamlin, and the safety’s recovery dominated the national conversation for weeks. 

Little more than a month after the on-field incident, during Super Bowl weekend, former NFL player and current Good Morning America host Michael Strahan asked Hamlin if he thought a return to the game was possible. 

“Eventually. That’s always the goal, Hamlin said. “I’m allowing that to be in God’s hands.” 

Now, two months after that interview, Hamlin made an announcement from the Bills practice facility that he plans on making a comeback and continuing his journey as a member of the NFL. 

“This is not the end of my story. I plan to make a comeback to the NFL.” ???? pic.twitter.com/jlAMdErKWk

— Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) April 18, 2023

“This event was life-changing, but it’s not the end of my story,” Hamlin said. 

“My heart is still in the game. I love the game,” he went on. “It is something I want to prove to myself, not nobody else. I just wanna show people that fear is a choice and that you can keep going in something without having the answers and without knowing what’s at the end of the tunnel.  

“Or 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.” 

Medical specialists determined Hamlin’s cardiac arrest was a result of commotio cordis, which according to the American Heart Association is “an extremely rare consequence of blunt force trauma to the heart that happens at exactly the wrong time in the heart rhythm, causing the heart to stop beating effectively.” 

The AHA also says that there are no risk factors with commotio cordis, meaning that an otherwise healthy Hamlin would be safe to return to the field. 

The Bills shared video footage from Monday’s voluntary workouts showing a smiling Hamlin going through drills on the practice field. 

The journey continues for @HamlinIsland. ???? pic.twitter.com/SiiRyQe1Nt

— Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) April 18, 2023

“We’re super excited for Damar,” Bills head coach Sean McDermott said last week. “He’s moving forward one step at a time here. He’s been cleared from a physical standpoint. We’ll provide all the mental help we can from a mind, body and spirit standpoint.”  

Teammate Von Miller also spoke to reporters about Hamlin’s journey, saying, “It’s just good when great things happen to great people.” 

“He [Hamlin] has taken full advantage of the opportunity that God has given him,” he added.