Bills safety Damar Hamlin cleared to return to football, heavy favorite in 2023 NFL Comeback Player of the Year odds

Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin, who went into cardiac arrest on the field during last season's Week 17 game in Cincinnati and nearly died, has been fully cleared to return to playing football. He is in attendance and participating at voluntary workouts with the Bills this week. Hamlin is the -200 favorite at Caesars Sportsbook to win 2023 NFL Comeback Player of the Year, with no other players listed below +1000.

Bills GM Brandon Beane said that the 25-year-old Hamlin visited with three different specialists after suffering cardiac arrest on Jan. 2 -- the on-field use of automated external defibrillators (AEDs) saved his life -- and all three specialists were in agreement that Hamlin could fully return to playing football. The Bills deferred to outside specialists on Hamlin's health, and head athletic trainer Nate Breske attended appointments with Hamlin.

"It's exciting to go from a guy who was fighting for his life to now -- you know, the story hasn't been written," Beane said. "Now, it's about the comeback."

Last month in Washington, D.C., Hamlin met with President Joe Biden, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick to help promote the bipartisan legislation which would increase the availability of AEDs, and related training, on school campuses. The NFL soon after launched the Smart Heart Sports Coalition, a collaboration with several groups to advocate for policies in all 50 states aimed at preventing fatal outcomes from sudden cardiac arrest among high school athletes.

Hamlin, a 2021 sixth-round pick out of the University of Pittsburgh, had 91 tackles in 15 games last season along with two passes defended, 1.5 sacks and one forced fumble. The NFL Comeback Player of the Year Award really is just a personal choice for voters -- often given to a player who missed at least half the previous season for whatever reason -- and obviously no one would have a better comeback story in 2023 than Hamlin.

The 2022 Comeback Player of the Year was Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith, the fifth straight QB to win the award. No safety or defensive back has won it. The lone Buffalo winner was QB Doug Flutie in 1998. 49ers QB Trey Lance is +1000 for the 2023 award after being limited to less than two full games last year due to injury. 

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