Sean McDermott addresses Damar Hamlin’s return to action
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Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott understands that safety Damar Hamlin making a successful return to in-game action during Saturday’s 23-19 preseason win over the Indianapolis Colts is hardly business as usual.
« You’re talking about a guy that was in the condition he was in, X amount of months ago, and here he is not only on an NFL team but he’s playing in a game, » McDermott told league insider Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated. « Just the whole thing is remarkable. »
Hamlin played against an opposing team for the first time since the 25-year-old went into cardiac arrest during a « Monday Night Football » game at the Cincinnati Bengals on Jan. 2. In total, Hamlin accumulated three tackles in Saturday’s victory, and he helped Buffalo’s defense make a clutch fourth-down stop in the first quarter.
« Look, we’re trying to keep it as normal as possible for him, and I think that sense of normalcy helps, » McDermott continued. « Here’s a young man who goes out there and suits up and plays and makes a couple tackles, and then walks off the field. I thought it was pretty remarkable, the whole story. »
McDermott added that Hamlin told his coach via text on Friday night he « was ready to roll » and « was gonna trust himself and his preparation and God » as it pertained to facing in-game contact for the first time since he nearly lost his life more than seven months ago.
As recently as early Monday morning, knowledgeable individuals such as NBC Sports’ Peter King noted that there was some chance before Saturday’s matchup that Hamlin may not make the team’s final roster for the upcoming season.
« I can tell you this wasn’t a gimme, » King wrote. « The Bills needed to see how Hamlin would respond to physical football over the past two weeks, particularly in the game against the Colts. »
As of Monday afternoon, OddsChecker listed Hamlin as the overwhelming betting favorite at -285 odds to claim the Comeback Player of the Year Award. That says plenty about how sportsbooks view Hamlin’s chances of featuring for the Bills when they open the regular season at the New York Jets on Sept. 11.
