Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin is cleared to resume playing and is attending the team’s voluntary workout program, the latest and biggest steps in his remarkable recovery some four months after going into cardiac arrest and having to be resuscitated on the field during a game at Cincinnati.
“He’s fully cleared. He’s here and he is of the mindset. He’s in a great headspace to come back and make his return,” general manager Brandon Beane said today.
Beane said the clearance came after Hamlin met with a third and final specialist on Friday, with all three being in agreement that Hamlin can resume playing without any fear of setbacks or complications. While the Bills had their head athletic trainer sit in on Hamlin’s meetings with specialists, Beane said the team is following the lead of the specialists.
“He’s such a great kid and has such a great family, and it’s exciting to go from a guy who was fighting for his life to now,” Beane said. “His story hasn’t been written. Now it’s about his comeback.”
Hamlin’s recovery is personal to many who watched in shock as Hamlin collapsed on the field on a nationally televised “Monday Night Football” game, but moreso for Beane. While the Bills returned home after the game initially was suspended and eventually canceled, Beane spent the first four days at Hamlin’s side, including when he was awakened from a medically induced coma at the University Cincinnati Medical Center.
