Bills' Damar Hamlin: 'As Hard as This S--t Is, I'm Still Living My Dream' in NFL

The physical tolls NFL football takes on a player's body are immense. Perhaps nobody is more attuned to the rigors of the game than Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin, who suffered cardiac arrest on the field during Week 17 of the 2022 season but has since resumed his playing career and now serves as a starting safety for the team.

"As tough as it is, as hard as the days are, as much as the grind as all of that s--t like, as hard as it is to be in this league and have success day in, day out—the grind, the pain, the hurt of my body every day—as hard as this s--t is, I'm still living my dream," he told ESPN's Alaina Getzenberg on Monday.

Hamlin, 26, returned to the field last season but largely served as a special teams contributor, appearing in five games. With the Bills undergoing major roster turnover this past offseason, however, he won the starting safety gig in training camp and has registered 31 tackles (two for loss), an interception and three passes defensed.

"I mean, what else can't this young man do?" Bills head coach Sean McDermott told reporters before Week 1 of the 2024 season. "It's one thing to come back off of an ACL or a broken bone. It's another thing to come back off of what he came back off of, right? Let alone just to decide to play football and contact football, right? In full pads at the NFL level... I don't think I need to say anything more."