Damar Hamlin wins PFWA’s George Halas Award

Posted by Charean Williams on May 15, 2023, 3:18 PM EDT
NFL: SEP 25 Bills at Dolphins
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The Pro Football Writers of America honored Bills safety Damar Hamlin on Monday, naming him the 55th winner of the George Halas Award.

The Halas Award is given to an NFL player, coach or staff member who overcomes the most adversity to succeed. Ryan Shazier (2019), Travis Frederick (2020), Alex Smith (2021) and Ron Rivera (2022) are recent winners of the award.

Hamlin went into cardiac arrest on the field during a Jan. 2 game at Cincinnati, with Bills assistant athletic trainer Denny Kellington performing life-saving CPR on Hamlin. Hamlin was diagnosed with Commotio Cordis, which is caused by getting hit in the chest at the wrong moment in the heart rhythm.

Doctors have fully cleared him to return to football activities.

Giants running back Saquon Barkley, 49ers/Panthers running back Christian McCaffrey, Commanders running back Brian Robinson Jr. and Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith were the other finalists for the 2023 Halas Award.

Kevin Everett (2008) is the only other member of the Bills’ organization ever to win the award.

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6 responses to “Damar Hamlin wins PFWA’s George Halas Award”

  1. Was it actually him that won the award or was it that body-double I’ve been hearing so much about?

  2. That’s a group award. Give it to the responders that were there for him immediately as well.

  3. How did he overcome this to earn that reward? By staying alive? He hasn’t been back to the field yet. He literally survived because of the doctors on the field and he gets an award? He has been in rehab ever since.. this is confusing. I thought you had to do something other than breath to EARN that award.

  4. This is great to hear as a Bills fan, but wouldn’t he technically be more deserving of the award after this NEXT season is played? Considering that is when he would have officially come back to play in an NFL game after suffering cardiac arrest? Kind of like all of the other finalists mentioned that had already made it back to the field since their injuries. Guess they made an exception for Damar and I can be ok with that but I think it would have been a bigger deal to get this award after making his comeback to the field.

  6. I always thought a “George Halas” should go to an individual who played, coached, and owned a team in the NFL.

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