Damar Hamlin injury: What happened to him?
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Damar Hamlin (Image via Buffalo Bills)
The 24-year-old Damar Hamlin plays as a defensive back for the Buffalo Bills. He was born on March 24, 1998, to Nina and Mario Hamlin, who were just teenagers when he was born. The young safety had to endure a rough childhood as he grew up in McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania, and attended high school at Pittsburgh Central Catholic.
He was a star at Pittsburgh Central Catholic, where he raked up 89 tackles and 2 interceptions in his senior year. The defensive back was a 4-star prospect out of high school and received offers from plenty of big school names, including Notre Dame, Ohio State, and Penn State. However, the talented player decided to stay local and play collegiate ball at the University of Pittsburgh, which was just a few blocks away from his high school.
The young buck bet on himself to accomplish great things at his local university. He went on to have a stellar career at Pittsburgh as he tallied 275 tackles and 6 interceptions during his five-year tenure with the Panthers. Pittsburgh named Hamlin the Student Athlete of the Week on 9/18/2018. During his time with the Panthers, he showed the NFL scouts that he can play football at the highest level.
The six-foot safety was drafted by the Buffalo Bills as the 212th overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft. After the draft, he signed a four-year rookie contract with the Bills and patiently waited for his opportunity. He sat down most of his rookie year as he just played 6% of the defensive snaps of the Bills who were loaded in the secondary.
But he gave his 100% on every opportunity he got and impressed the Bills. Hamlin finally became a starter in his year 2 and started 13 games for the Bills before he went down with a horrific injury.
Related : Damar Hamlin’s Parents: Know about Nina Hamlin and Mario Hamlin
Damar Hamlin horrific injury
The incident happened during the first half of the Bengals-Bills game in the week 17 NFL regular season. Cincinnati was trying to march down the field to put points on the board for the second time in that game.
After catching a 13-yard pass from Joe Burrow, Bengals WR Tee Higgins laid a heavy hit with his right shoulder on the Bills DB, who was trying to tackle him. The safety wrapped his arms around Higgins and managed to bring Higgins down. After the tackle, both guys stood up, but Hamlin collapsed right back on the Paul Brown Stadium’s turf.
The medical personnel checked on Hamlin and found out that he was not breathing and administered CPR (Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation) for the young safety before transferring him to the UC Medical Center where he remains in critical condition. The game was postponed indefinitely.
The Buffalo Bills team released a statement in the early hours of Tuesday Morning, in which they said that Hamlin had a cardiac arrest after the collision and his heartbeat was restored on the field before he could be transferred to the hospital. His marketing representative tweeted that Hamlin remains in critical condition, but his vitals are back to normal.
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Aravind Raj
(2075 Articles Published)