Damar Hamlin’s comeback story has been nothing short of miraculous. In just over a year’s time, Hamlin went from a serious life-altering cardiovascular scare to back on the Buffalo Bills‘ roster doing what he loves.
As the Bills head to South Beach to take on the Miami Dolphins with the divisional crown on the line, will Hamlin be suited up to help his Bills try and achieve the win? Here’s a deeper dive into Hamlin and his expected participation level for the Week 18 matchup.
Damar Hamlin’s Playing Status Ahead of Dolphins Game
Update 01/07/2024: Damar Hamlin is officially inactive for this Week 18 game against the Dolphins.
While just for Hamlin to be able to get to this point in his life where he can play football again is a win in and of itself, he has been used sparingly this season. Whether it’s been due to good health for those around him at his position or strategic decisions made by the coaches, Hamlin has only been active for five games this season.
It’s not official yet, but with the Bills being largely clean heading into the final of the week injury-wise in the secondary, the belief is Hamlin may be inactive for this matchup as well.
Such was the case for Hamlin in Week 17. Since not much has changed by the way of availability for the roster, we can expect a similar outcome a week later.
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Five starts in 2023 has been a far less workload than what Hamlin was given in 2022 where he appeared in 13 games of action. The majority of his work came from special teams rather than defense.
To date, Hamlin has only taken 16 snaps on the defensive side of the ball this year, which doesn’t seem to be changing as the season wraps up today.
Hamlin Named Week 18 NFLPA Community MVP
What Hamlin has been able to do to get back on the field has been inspirational to all. However, his on-field work is not the only thing getting noticed.
Ahead of the final week of the NFL season, Hamlin was named Week 18’s NFLPA Community MVP after he hosted his fourth annual holiday toy drive benefiting 750 kids in his home state of Pennsylvania.
Hamlin dressed up as Santa Claus and distributed more than 2,000 toys, 50 bikes, and hundreds of books while taking pictures and signing autographs for all the attending kids.
Hamlin understands the impact he can make and is honored to be the award recipient this week.
“It is an incredible honor to be recognized by the NFLPA on behalf of the Chasing M’s Foundation,” said Hamlin. “The inspiration for my charity came from the generosity of tens of thousands of people, from all over the world, who donated to support my journey after experiencing cardiac arrest.”
Giving back to his community is not something that is foreign to Hamlin and is something he has made a priority even back to his college days. In 2020, he started a GoFundMe with the goal of raising $2,500 to host his first toy donation drive at his mom’s daycare center.
From there Hamlin has used his platform for good and continues to be within the community as a leader and a source of inspiration.
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