The Buffalo Bills kicked off their training camp on Wednesday, and Bills Mafia gave a special welcome to one player in particular.
Safety Damar Hamlin has been fully cleared for practice after suffering a cardiac arrest on the field during a Monday Night Football game in Cincinnati on Jan. 2.
On Wednesday, he stepped onto the practice field to roars from fans in Pittsford, N.Y.
Training camp is the latest stop in Hamlin’s road to recovery. The 25-year-old was cleared for football activities in April and participated in OTAs in June.
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“With Damar's situation, like I mentioned in the spring, he has our full support, and always will, and then we'll continue to take it one day at a time, and we'll go at his cadence,” Bills head coach Sean McDermott told reporters on Wednesday. “At this point, he's full-go and we'll take it one day at a time, so I think that's the best approach.”
Hamlin is entering his third NFL season. He finished with 91 tackles, 1.5 sacks, two passes defended and one forced fumble across 15 regular season games in 2022.