ESPN: Bills Praise Damar Hamlin for 'Absolutely Incredible' Play in Return vs. Colts

Damar Hamlin made quite an impression in his first game back since he went into cardiac arrest during a game against the Cincinnati Bengals in January.

ESPN's Jeremy Fowler appeared on Sunday's episode of SportsCenter and shared some praise after the Buffalo Bills safety helped lead his team to a 23-19 victory over the Indianapolis Colts in Saturday's preseason game:

"The texts I were getting back from people in Buffalo were saying, 'He played his a-s-s off, that he was absolutely incredible.' They were so fired up for him and they kept pointing out that it's not that he was just out there, he was playing well. He played with no fear. And so, the Bills people were showering him with praise in the locker room after the game. And like Sean McDermott said, this is new territory, so they do have to monitor him, but he's cleared and ready to go. So right now, he has ingratiated himself as one of the guys in the locker room and a player who can play and play at a high level."

Hamlin finished with three tackles and played a key role in a fourth-down stop of Colts running back Evan Hull.

"What a challenge, who can say they get to face their fears like this in front of the entire world," Hamlin told reporters. "It was a good step in the right direction as far as internally for myself."

While Buffalo has Micah Hyde and Jordan Poyer at safety, Hamlin figures to see plenty of playing time after finishing the 2022 campaign with 91 tackles, two passes defended, 1.5 sacks and one forced fumble in 15 games.

He was participating in training camp and practice leading up to Saturday's game, which was yet another step in his road back for the season opener against the New York Jets on Sept. 11.