Buffalo Bills S Damar Hamlin continues to work with first-team defense

Buffalo Bills defensive end Damar Hamlin provides a truly inspiring story of perseverance in the face of life’s greatest unknowns. After suffering a cardiac arrest on the field, later diagnosed as a commotio cordis, Hamlin made his triumphant return to action during Buffalo’s 2023 training camp.

Although Hamlin has fully recovered and returned to the team, he hasn’t had many opportunities to play during the season, either as a starter or as a backup. This has led many to wonder whether or not his roster spot is in jeopardy heading into 2024.

A year after returning to action at St. John Fisher University, Hamlin found himself among the starting safeties to open this summer’s camp. Reviews have been positive about his play on the field. In fact, Hamlin also worked with the first-team defense on the fourth (July 28) and fifth (July 29) days of training camp. Hamlin continues to make plays and hold his ground. Whether that translates into a starting role at safety in 2024 is unknown.

New defensive coordinator Bobby Babich is constantly looking for talented playmakers at all levels of the field, and right now there’s a real competition at both safety positions.

Babich was asked about Hamlin’s opportunity this season and what he’s seen from him given everything that’s happened with Hamlin and the position in general.

“You know, Damar is a pro. Damar is a pro. He’s been in the system for a while, obviously I coached him when I was coaching safeties and all that. He knows the expectations, Joe Danna did a great job. Look, there was a lot that happened with what happened to Damar. Not just the event, but what happened afterward. And he handled it absolutely as well as anybody could handle it. He’s very aware of his environment and his surroundings, so he knows what’s on the table, and his belief is that his mind is in the right place. You know, the only person that’s going to know is Damar, but what he’s showing is that he’s a professional and when it comes down to it, you know, there’s competition at that position. And he understands that and he’s put himself in a position to be ready for that opportunity.”

The Bills are in dire need of finding quality starters at both safety positions after the departures of safeties Jordan Poyer and Micah Hyde. While it’s questionable whether Hyde will actually return for another try in 2024, the team is operating as if it’s starting from scratch.

In addition to Hamlin, Buffalo signed safety Mike Edwards earlier this offseason. Unfortunately, Edwards has missed a lot of offseason work, first with a shoulder injury in the spring and now with a hamstring injury suffered on July 28.

Head coach Sean McDermott called Edwards’ injury a “week-to-week” occurrence. That may diminish Edwards’ chances of earning a starting role with so few weeks to go before the regular season. It’s important to remember, however, that the same injury caused linebacker Terrel Bernard to miss the entire preseason and most of camp last year.

Asked about Mike Edwards, Bobby Babich said:

“Mike Edwards is an American football player. I think I’ve said the same thing about other safeties that have been here in the past and had success. You know, I think the word I used was he’s not the sexiest, he’s not the fastest, he’s not the biggest, he’s not the strongest, but when he plays, he plays and he makes plays. You know, and in this game, it all comes down to making plays. You know, Mike has a long way to go to get acclimated to what we do here at the Bills, but Mike is the type of guy that can do that. But yeah, he’s just a football player that tends to find the ball, which as we all know is a big part of the game.”

The Buffalo Bills also selected Cole Bishop in the second round of the 2024 NFL Draft, bolstering their need for safety talent. It’s clear Bishop will need time to develop into a more complete NFL defender, but there’s a reason the Bills prioritized his selection last April.

Babich was asked if Cole Bishop could compete for a starting spot as a rookie, to which he responded:

“When you talk about challenges with Cole, I think the biggest challenge is making sure he stays in a day-to-day mentality – and I’ve said this before – stays in a day-to-day mentality. You can’t think too much about the future. You literally have to go – and I tell these guys all the time – you have to go drill by drill, rep by rep, minute by minute, hour by hour, day by day, meeting by meeting – that’s how you have to live your day in this league, or the season will be so long that it will eat you up and spit you out. Cole is extremely talented like I said. There’s a reason we took him where we took him. And I think the biggest thing, like I said, is he’s a rookie and he has to grow up fast and the ball is in his court to be able to do that.”

In addition to replacing the talent lost at safety, Babich also noted that it’s been “a growth process” as the team attempts to fill the pre-snap communication void left by the departures of Poyer and Hyde. Babich said they’re “doing a good job. We’ve got a long way to go.” His comments shouldn’t necessarily set off alarm bells at this point, though people will hang on the latter half of his comment. Every day is an opportunity to learn, grow and become exactly the kind of player Babich hopes to find for the defensive backfield.

But what exactly is Bobby Babich looking for in the Bills’ next pair of safeties? Addressing the issue of open competition, Babich said:

“The ability to take control of the defense with confidence and have the people in front of them feel good about that communication. Then you have to make plays. I’ve said it before – it’s the NFL, it’s a make or break league. You either make the play or you don’t, and so when it comes to making the play, you have to be able to make plays to help the Bills win. That’s the most important thing, it’s our team and we have to help our team win. So as coaches, we have to put guys on the field that are going to put this team in position by being able to make plays. So those are the two things I would say: the people behind them – sorry, in front of them – have to be comfortable with what they’re being told to do and, you know, that execution element plus the playmaking element.”

As for Damar Hamlin, perhaps being a full season removed from the traumatic event that nearly took his life has allowed him to simply play more instinctively, with an extreme focus on the task on the field ahead.