PART ONE
Source: New York Upstate
Five months after his heart stopped twice on the field in Cincinnati, Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin put his helmet back on and played football during the team’s final open practice of Organized Team Activities (OTAs) this week.
Hamlin was a full participant in team drills and even had a few plays come his way throughout the afternoon.
The first action of the day for Hamlin came as quarterback Josh Allen ripped in a quick pass to Gabe Davis. Hamlin and Dane Jackson converged on the pass for the stop.
The second play happened when running back Nyheim Hines ran a route and locked into a one-on-one situation with Hamlin, who ran stride for stride with him down the left sideline. Allen threw it deep and likely threw it long because Hamlin had such solid coverage. Hamlin then tracked down Latavius Murray after a short reception from Kyle Allen.
The last play came on a contested catch situation against KeeSean Johnson. Hamlin tried to reach in from behind the play to affect the ball, but Johnson made the catch.
Hamlin fell awkwardly and seemed to injure his shoulder or upper body. He walked off with trainers, had it checked out, and he was back on the field a few minutes later.
“The next thing is going to putting pads on, and it’ll be at training camp,” said Bills general manager Brandon Beane. “This is a two-way communication — this is not us saying, ‘You’ve got to do this.’
“The next thing will be when we get to the team training camp. We’ll continue to ramp him up with helmets on, but that’ll be probably the next big hurdle for him, tackling.
“Physically, he’s all cleared. But this is a real deal from a mental standpoint after you’ve been to where he was.”