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Bills GM says Hamlin cleared to resume NFL activities / Photo: Gregory Shamus - GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP/File
Bills GM says Hamlin cleared to resume NFL activities
Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin, who went into cardiac arrest after making a tackle and was resuscitated on the field, has been cleared to resume NFL activities, Bills general manager Brandon Beane said Tuesday.
After his near-death experience on an NFL field, Beane said Hamlin is ready to once again pull on a helmet and pads and play American football.
"He's fully cleared," Beane said. "He's here and he is of the mindset -- he's in a great headspace -- to come back and make his return."
During the first quarter of a nationally televised NFL game at Cincinnati in January, Hamlin tackled Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins after a 13-yard reception.
Hamlin rose to his feet, then collapsed backward onto the ground. The Bills said his heartbeat was restored on the field by medical technicians before he was transported to a nearby hospital for further treatment.
"Damar saw his last specialist on Friday," Beane said. "Long and short of it, when he left Cincinnati, came here to Buffalo General, he saw a couple of specialists here in Buffalo, and then since then, he has seen three additional specialists, most recently on Friday.
"They're all in agreement. It's not 2-to-1 or 3-to-1 or anything like that. They're all in lockstep of what this was and that he is cleared (to) resume full activities just like anyone else who was coming back from an injury or whatever."
- Biden tribute -
After a defibrillator helped save his life, Hamlin championed a bill to increase access to the equipment in US schools.
US President Joe Biden was among those who paid tribute to Hamlin.
"Hamlin's courage, resilience, and spirit inspired the American people," Biden tweeted. "And what's more: he turned recovery into action -– and our country is better for it."
Players from both teams were emotional and shaken while Hamlin was being treated, loaded onto a stretcher and driven off the field in an ambulance. The game was halted and never completed.
Hamlin, a sixth-round pick of the Bills in the 2021 NFL Draft, made his first NFL start earlier in the 2022 season and remained a starting defender for Buffalo until his injury.
Hamlin, who turned 25 in March, was able to breathe on his own four days after the injury and made a video call to his teammates.
He made his first public appearance since the incident at a Bills playoff game at Buffalo, where the club lost to Cincinnati, and also attended the Super Bowl in February.
N.Zimmermann--BlnAP
