Bills safety Damar Hamlin to be inactive vs. Jets
Sept. 11 (UPI) -- Fans will need to wait a bit longer to see Damar Hamlin play in a regular-season game for the first time since his on-field cardiac arrest, with the safety expected to be inactive for the Buffalo Bills' 2023 opener.
Sources told NFL Network, ESPN and CBS Sports on Monday morning about the expected transaction. Hamlin, who remains healthy, is a backup safety on the Bills depth chart, behind first-string defender Micah Hyde.
The Bills will face the New York Jets at 8:15 p.m. EDT Monday at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J.
Hamlin, 25, was involved in one of the most-dramatic on-field scenes in NFL history in January, collapsing after a collision with wide receiver Tee Higgins in the first quarter of the Bills' game against the Cincinnati Bengals in Cincinnati.
He was hospitalized for more than a week, but returned to Bills practice in June during organized team activities. He went on to play in all three of the Bills' preseason games.
NFL teams are allowed to carry 53 active players on their rosters, with 48 available on game days. Jordan Poyer is the Bills' other starting safety. Taylor Rapp is the only other safety listed on the Bills depth chart.
Hamlin appeared in 15 games last season, when Hyde missed 15 games because of a season-ending neck injury he sustained in a Sept. 19 win over the Tennessee Titans.
He totaled a career-high 91 combined tackles, six tackles for a loss, two passes defensed, 1.5 sacks and a forced fumble in 2022. The sixth-round pick in the 2021 NFL Draft totaled two combined tackles and two passes defensed in 14 games as a rookie.
Most sportsbooks list Hamlin as the favorite to win the NFL Comeback Player of the Year award.
The Bills and Jets game will air on ESPN, ABC and ESPN2. The Bills will host the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 2. That game will kick off at 1 p.m. EDT Sept. 17 in Orchard Park, N.Y.
