Damar Hamlin Named Starting Safety for Bills Ahead of Week 1 vs. Cardinals

Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin will get his first start in two years during Sunday's season opener against the Arizona Cardinals, head coach Sean McDermott announced on Wednesday (h/t The Buffalo News' Jay Skurski).

Taylor Rapp was named the other starting safety, per Skurski.

Hamlin was competing for the starting position with sixth-year safety Mike Edwards and rookie Cole Bishop, both of whom were limited by injuries this offseason.

Hamlin is heading into his fourth NFL campaign after finishing as the 2023 Comeback Player of the Year runner-up. Last season he played in five regular-season games in his return from suffering on-field cardiac arrest in 2022.

Hamlin has not started since Jan. 2, 2023, when a blow to his chest caused his heart to stop, a condition called commotio cordis, which led to cardiac arrest.

After sitting as a healthy scratch for the first three games of the 2023 season, Hamlin received limited playing time, mostly on special teams, in his return to the Bills' reserves.

Rumblings that Hamlin could take on a larger role for the Bills in 2024 began when he played on the first-team defense alongside Rapp on the first day of training camp, moving Edwards to the second unit, per Bills reporter Sal Capaccio.

According to general manager Brandon Beane, Hamlin saw the opportunity to return to a starting role with Jordan Poyer having left for the Miami Dolphins and Micah Hyde's contract status uncertain.

"He came back hungry," Beane said about Hamlin in July, per Sal Maiorana of the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle. "One of the things he said to me, and I feel like he said it to others, is, 'I got through last year.'

"Right now (last year) we were still talking about how it's going to be different when he puts pads on, it's going to be different that first hit. And then he got to get in a game in a stadium where that incident happened. No one's talking about that anymore. His focus was like, 'No, I want to go win a job. I want to show I can prove that I can start and help and make plays.' And so that's been his focus. 'Micah and Jordan are gone, there's new faces around, and don't forget about me. I can still do it.'"

Hyde remains unsigned, and Beane has recently said the Bills have "not closed the door" on him returning. It is not clear how the veteran safety's potential return would impact Hamlin's position on the depth chart.

Edwards could also continue to compete for a starting position as he aims for a Week 1 return from a hamstring injury that caused him to miss training camp and preseason action.

For now, Hamlin will head into the final year of his four-year rookie contract ready to make his 14th career start for the Bills.