Bills’ Hamlin to Make His First Start in Nearly 2 Years – A name etched in everyone’s minds and hearts around the world has moved to the top of the Buffalo Bills’ Week 1 depth chart. Damar Hamlin, the team’s veteran safety and inspirational leader, who was on death’s doorstep during a regular-season game against the Cincinnati Bengals, will start in Buffalo’s season opener against the Arizona Cardinals after working hard and making his way back to the gridiron.
It has been an incredible climb back to the top for the 26-year-old Hamlin, whose life was changed forever after he suffered cardiac arrest after making a tackle against the Bengals in January of 2023. He immediately collapsed and was tended to and given life-saving measures by the team’s medical staff, who restored his heartbeat on the field before he was lifted on a stretcher and into an ambulance.
Hamlin spent the next week at the UC Medical Center. Approximately 48 hours after going into cardiac arrest, Hamlin began communicating with his medical team by handwriting as he was still on a ventilator helping him breathe. “Who won the game?” was one of the first things Hamlin asked his doctors.
“It’s not only that the lights are on, but we know he’s home,” Hamlin’s doctors said the following Thursday.
Hamlin’s steady improvement, deemed as “remarkable” by his doctors, allowed him to be discharged and leave the hospital after seven days as he continued to receive treatment at home in Buffalo. Hamlin was given the go ahead to return to football related activities four months after the incident.
Hamlin did not start a game last season while taking the field in just five games, but the fact that he was playing football at all was a miracle and a massive achievement in its own right. He was activated for the first time when the Bills hosted the Miami Dolphins on October 1.
Hamlin has carved out a bigger role for himself this season, as he is scheduled to start on Sunday for the first time since Buffalo’s matchup with Cincinnati in Week 17 of the 2022 season. And while other stories will no doubt dominate the headlines, Hamlin’s first start is worthy of praise and admiration, as it is a statement of his never give up attitude to keep his dream of playing in the NFL alive and well.
“What else can’t this young man do,” coach Sean McDermott said Wednesday. “… 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, and full pads at the NFL level. I don’t think I need to say anything more. I mean, it’s incredible.”
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Commanders, Cosmi Agrees to Contract Extension – The Washington Commanders took care of the pillar of their offensive line that will be in charge of protecting their rookie quarterback.
Washington signed guard Sam Cosmi to a four-year contract extension that is worth $74 million, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported Wednesday, according to sources familiar with the situation. The organization later doubled down and confirmed the agreement.
Cosmi is a story of how the majority of players make it to the NFL, with persistence, work ethics, development and finding the right fit.
A second-round pick out of Texas in 2021, Cosmi struggled mightily his first two years as a right tackle, getting torched and never looking quite right. He was moved to right guard in 2023 and as they say, everything was history and his play took off.
Cosmi proved to be an excellent run blocker and outstanding in pass protection. In his first year at the position, the 25-year-old showed his upside and potential as one of the best guards in the NFL. He has the ability to earn his first Pro Bowl nod in 2024.
The Commanders spent the offseason overhauling their offensive line in front of rookie Jayden Daniels. Cosmi receiving an extension before playing a regular-season snap in the offense shows that the new regime in D.C. is excited and impressed with his development and play after the position switch.
