Bills’ Damar Hamlin to make first start since cardiac arrest

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott said that safety Damar Hamlin will start in Week 1.

The fourth-year safety started 13 games in 2022 and played in five last season after suffering cardiac arrest on “Monday Night Football” in Cincinnati on Jan. 2, 2023, in a game against the Bengals. This will be his first start since then.

“What else can’t this young man do,” McDermott said Wednesday. “… It’s one thing to come back off of an ACL or a broken bone. It’s another thing to come back off of what he came back off of, right? Let alone just to decide to play football and contact football, right, and full pads at the NFL level. I don’t think I need to say anything more. I mean, it’s incredible.”

He will start Sunday against the Cardinals alongside veteran safety Taylor Rapp as part of major turnover at the position for the Bills, with seven-year starting safeties Micah Hyde and Jordan Poyer no longer on the roster. Hyde was a free agent this offseason and contemplated retirement but has said he would re-sign only with the Bills, while Poyer signed in free agency with the Miami Dolphins.

Hamlin, 26, has received first-team opportunities throughout the offseason and training camp as the team dealt with injuries at the position, notably to free agent addition Mike Edwards (shoulder and then hamstring injuries) and to rookie second-round pick Cole Bishop (shoulder).

McDermott said that Hamlin’s consistency stood out in making the decision.