Bills safety Damar Hamlin is cleared to RETURN to football

Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin has been cleared to return to the football field four months after suffering cardiac arrest on the field and being resuscitated by emergency responders.

Bills general manager Brandon Beane made the announcement Tuesday, saying that Hamlin is currently with the team.

“They all agree,” Beane said of Hamlin’s doctors. “It’s not 2-1 or 3-1 or anything like that. They are all in step with what this was and that he is cleared to resume full activities as is anyone who came back from injury or whatever. He’s been completely cleared, he’s here and he’s got a lot of free space to come back and make his comeback.”

Hamlin had previously said he hopes to return to the game, despite his near-death experience playing for the Bills in Cincinnati in early January.

The Bills will begin off-season organized team activities (OTAs) on May 22, when Hamlin can be in uniform for the first time since his cardiac arrest. The team will hold a mini camping from 13 to 15 June.

Players react as Hamlin is taken off the field and placed in an ambulance for emergency surgery

Hamlin turned 25 last month, another milestone for Bills safety, as he continues to recover from an on-field cardiac arrest during a January game in Cincinnati.

“Turning 25 @ midnight,” Hamlin tweeted Thursday night before posting a photo of his birthday cake to Twitter. “So much to be thankful for.”

That is certainly an understatement.

Hamlin had to be resuscitated on the field in Cincinnati before being rushed to a local hospital for emergency surgery on January 2. He has since undergone months of rehab as his NFL future remains up in the air.

He has since made numerous appearances across the country, including at the Super Bowl festivities in Arizona where he received the NFLPA’s Alan Page Community Award. He also participated in a pregame ceremony in which the NFL honored the Bills and Bengals training and medical staff and first responders who treated the Pittsburgh native.

In February, it was reported that Hamlin had a few more doctor visits before determining whether he can pursue his goal of returning to competition.

Hamlin tweeted that he has “so much to be thankful for” following his near-death experience

Providing the update on the NFL group in Indianapolis on Feb. 28, Beane said Hamlin’s “endgame” is to resume play as long as he gets the necessary medical clearance.

“If we can get full clearance and he feels he’s ready, that’s another big smile of a story,” Beane said at the time. He not only got his life back, but also his football career. I’d love to give the storybook ending that he’s definitely going to play, but we just don’t know yet. But if he does, we’ll be very happy for him.’

In February, Beane said “all is well” with Hamlin’s test results after visiting numerous specialists across the country.

Hamlin has enjoyed what doctors are calling a remarkable recovery since collapsing on the field after making what appeared to be a routine tackle in the first quarter of a game against the Bengals that was suspended and eventually called off.

The sophomore player from the McKee’s Rock neighborhood of Pittsburgh spent nearly 10 days recovering in hospitals in both Cincinnati and Buffalo before being released. He eventually began making visits to the Bills facility and attended the team’s season-ending 27-10 loss to Cincinnati in the divisional round of the playoffs.

Hamlin posted a photo of his birthday cake, which contained a reference to his jersey number