The Buffalo Bills are bringing back Damar Hamlin on a one-year deal, a move that provides depth at safety.
The general consensus was that Hamlin was going to have a market in unrestricted free agency because he does have 27 career starts with the Bills, but that apparently did not materialize for the former sixth-round pick who turns 27 in two weeks.
Thus, it probably made sense for Hamlin to return to Buffalo and continue to play in a familiar defense, even if that may be as a backup because Cole Bishop, Buffalo’s second-round draft pick in 2024, is being counted on to win a starting job next to Taylor Rapp.
Hamlin spent the first four years of his career in Buffalo and he was essentially a full-time starter in two seasons. Last year he won the job previously held by Micah Hyde whose contract expired after 2023, and Hamlin played in 14 games plus all three in the postseason. Counting the postseason he made 104 tackles and had two interceptions and a fumble recovery.
In 2022, he took over for the injured Hyde in Week 3 and started 13 games, the last of which occurred on Jan. 2, 2023 in Cincinnati and on that night, Hamlin was smashed in the chest by Tee Higgins while trying to make a tackle. He crumpled to the ground and went into cardiac arrest and in a scene that will never be forgotten, trainers and doctors brought him back to life right on the field before he was transported to a hospital.
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Before the injury, Hamlin made 91 tackles, a forced fumble and recorded 1.5 sacks.
Coming back from that trauma, Hamlin played sparingly in 2023, but the mere fact that he was back on the field was rather miraculous. And then his story continued when he beat out free agent Mike Edwards and Bishop for the starting job in 2024.
Still, it was believed that the Bills were going to move on from Hamlin because while his story is certainly inspiring, he has really been nothing more than an average player. Bishop is expected to become the starter in 2025, so Hamlin would battle for a backup job.
A couple weeks ago at the NFL scouting combine, general manager Brandon Beane was asked about Hamlin’s future.
“Damar’s story is a movie and it’s a movie that you wouldn’t believe that he’s made it this far,” Beane said. “A lot of people would have turned it off and said this is a hoax. There’s nothing but unbelievable things to say about what Damar has done and we’ll let the business take care of itself. Of course we’d love to have Damar Hamlin back. The business has to make sense for him first and foremost, and then for us.
“We’ll keep those conversations between us and if we can get him back, great. And if we can’t then I want to hug him and call him like we do with a lot of the other guys when we just can’t make the financials work on our end. But what a great job he’s done. I don’t think hardly anyone out there had him pegged as our day one starter (in 2024) and he didn’t lose the job all year. That’s a credit to him, not only as a sixth-round pick but the medical situation he went through.”
With Hamlin back in the fold, that brings to four the number of Buffalo’s own free agents that Beane is bringing back. Hamlin joins running back Ty Johnson, fullback Reggie Gilliam, and long snapper Reid Ferguson.
Sal Maiorana has covered the Buffalo Bills for four decades including 35 years as the full-time beat writer for the D&C, he has written numerous books about the history of the team, and he is also co-host of the BLEAV in Bills podcast/YouTube show. He can be reached at [email protected], and you can follow him on X @salmaiorana and on Bluesky @salmaiorana.bsky.social. Sign up for his Bills Blast newsletter here: https://profile.democratandchronicle.com/newsletters/bills-blast
