Sean McDermott to SI on Damar Hamlin’s Return: ‘Pretty Remarkable’

The Bills safety texted his coach the night before Saturday’s game, telling him that he was ready to roll and that he was going to trust himself and his preparation and God.

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There’s no need to overanalyze it—Damar Hamlin’s return to the game field Saturday was the best story of the weekend. It’s been a little more than eight months since the scariest moment most of us have seen on a football field played out in front of the nation. So that Hamlin was out there, on the field, in any capacity, is incredible.

For the record, he finished with 22 snaps played on defense, another four on special teams, and was in on three tackles, including one to stone the Colts’ offense on a fourth-and-1 in the first quarter. But obviously, just the fact that he was out there was the story.

That he played well and with the controlled recklessness football requires only adds to it.

Hamlin on his return to the field: “I made the choice that I wanted to play—it wasn’t anybody else’s choice but mine. Making that choice, I know what comes with it.” :: Mark Konezny/USA TODAY Sports

“Look, when you step in between those lines, you’re putting yourself at risk by hesitating, and by reserving yourself,” Hamlin said postgame. “I made the choice that I wanted to play—it wasn’t anybody else’s choice but mine. Making that choice, I know what comes with it. So when you see my cleats laced up and my helmet and shoulder pads on, there ain’t gonna be no hesitation. You can’t play this game like that. You’ll put yourself at more risk.

“When I’m out there, I’m not thinking twice; I’m playing my game and playing how I was taught to play since I was my little brother’s age.”

And while it sounds simple, the fact that Hamlin was able to get himself back there psychologically, after admittedly shaking off some nerves, is indeed amazing. So Sunday, after all this, and after Sean McDermott called Hamlin’s appearance “historic” and “remarkable,” I reached out to the Bills coach and asked him what he saw as most remarkable about what he witnessed.

“I mean, what wasn’t? Where do you want to start?” McDermott says. “You’re talking about a guy that was in the condition he was in, x amount of months ago, and here he is not only on an NFL team but he’s playing in a game. Just the whole thing is remarkable. Look, we’re trying to keep it as normal as possible for him, and I think that sense of normalcy helps. Here’s a young man who goes out there and suits up and plays and makes a couple tackles and then walks off the field.

“I thought it was pretty remarkable, the whole story.”

McDermott then told me he traded texts with Hamlin the night before the game, and made a point of sharing one of them in particular with his kids: “You talk about mindset and faith and courage? He basically said that he was ready to roll and that he was gonna trust himself and his preparation and God. I think that says everything right there.”

Sure does. And while we’re here, it’s also worth sharing, I think, maybe the coolest moment in an afternoon full of those—when Hamlin saw Bills trainer Denny Kellington, who administered CPR on the safety on the field in Cincinnati in January.

Caught this moment pregame between Damar Hamlin and #Bills trainer Denny Kellington#BillsMafia
🫶🥹 pic.twitter.com/YjtU3XR2D6

— Dom Tibbetts (@DomTibbettsTV) August 12, 2023

Just an awesome scene all the way around. Congrats, Damar.