Damar Hamlin to start at safety for Bills vs. Cardinals
Damar Hamlin will be the other starting safety for the Buffalo Bills against the Arizona Cardinals in their 2024 NFL season opener.
Buffalo head coach Sean McDermott revealed the news via video conference on Wednesday ahead of the matchup. Like many, Hamlin’s incredible journey over the past few years, suffering cardiac arrest and now a starting defensive back in Buffalo, is what stood out the most for the coach.
“What else can’t this young man do?” McDermott said. “To come back from that, you know, 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, right? Let alone just to decide to play football and contact football in full pads at the NFL level.”
Hamlin will start for the Bills defense alongside Taylor Rapp.
Rapp was named a starter early on in the offseason but Hamlin was in a three-way battle for the job. The others in contention were Mike Edwards and second-round rookie Cole Bishop.
While Hamlin is the Day 1 starter, that could always change. McDermott even noted that part of the reason Hamlin edged out the competition was because of availability.
Edwards (hamstring) and Bishop (shoulder) missed extensive time during training camp due to injury. That hampered their ability to learn the defensive scheme which Hamlin has already spent years in.
All things considered, Hamlin will be one of the top players to watch on the Bills defense against the Cardinals.
McDermott discussing Hamlin being named a starter can be found in the clip below:
Read all the best Bills coverage at the Democrat and Chronicle and Bills Wire.
