Bills safety Damar Hamlin hopes to play football again. The Bills hope to help him make a return while keeping all relevant factors in mind.
Coach Sean McDermott tells Judy Battista of NFL Network that the organization has addressed with Hamlin the mental and emotional aspects of returning to game action after suffering cardiac arrest during a game on January 2.
“The best thing we can do is support him all the way through this, and that is a big piece of it that is, mind, body and spirit,” McDermott said. “It’s just not physically like, hey, in the weight room, it’s the mental piece as well.”
McDermott added that “the amount of courage it’s going to take to re-engage again is unbeknownst to many of us.”
Indeed it is. What player has ever tried to come back and play after nearly dying on the field?
“I’m ready to support him in any direction he decides to go, even if it’s last minute,” McDermott told Battista, seemingly acknowledging the very real possibility that Hamlin will check every box and be ready to play and then realize that, all things considered, he just can’t do it again.
It would be understandable if that happens. The Bills are doing the right thing by giving Damar Hamlin all the support he needs, all the time he requires to make a decision — and if necessary to change his mind.