Alina GetzenbergESPN3 minutes to read
Bills GM: Damar Hamlin is all set to get back into football
Bills general manager Brandon Bean is going through the process of clearing Damar Hamlin from playing football again.
Orchard Park, New York – Demar Hamlin has been given full pass to return to the Billings safety, Buffalo general manager Brandon Bean said Tuesday.
Hamlin saw his last specialist on Friday and is present and participating in volunteer workouts with the Bills this week.
“He’s been completely cleared. He’s here…and he’s in a big void to come back,” Bean said.
Beane said Hamlin visited three different specialists after suffering cardiac arrest during the Bills’ January 2 regular season game against the Cincinnati Bengals. All three specialists agreed that Hamlin could fully return to playing football.
Hamlin said in February that he hoped to return to the field.
Hamlin said to Michael Strahan in an interview that aired on Fox during the Super Bowl LVII pregame show. “But I allow it to be in God’s hands. I’m just grateful that He gave me a second chance.”
Last month, Hamlin spent time in Washington, D.C., to help promote bipartisan legislation Access to Epilepsy Devices, which will increase the availability of automated external defibrillators, and related training, on school campuses. He also met President Joe Biden at the White House.
The NFL launched the Smart Heart Sports Coalition, a collaboration with several groups to advocate for policies in all 50 states aimed at preventing fatal outcomes from sudden cardiac arrest among high school athletes. The goal of the coalition is to pass statewide legislation and implement these policies within the next three years, and the group has sent letters to the governors of 43 states where it believes additional policies are needed.
Hamlin had a busy couple of months, including receiving the NFLPA’s highest honor, the Alan Page Community Award, for his work helping others. His Chasing M’s Foundation raised more than $9 million in the days after he went to the hospital, with the money largely going through a GoFundMe to buy a toy whose initial goal was $2,500. He was also recognized along with the Bills and Bengals medical and athletic coaching staff and some staff from the University of Cincinnati Medical Center in NFL Honors and on the field prior to Super Bowl LVII.
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