ORCHARD PARK - The last time Damar Hamlin started at safety for the Buffalo Bills, one of the most amazing things ever seen on a football field took place. And it had nothing to do with football.

On the night of Jan. 2, 2023 in Cincinnati, Hamlin made a tackle against the Bengals Tee Higgins, staggered briefly on his feet, then toppled to the turf as his heart went into cardiac arrest.

Right there, in front of more than 60,000 fans plus a national TD audience on Monday Night Football, Hamlin nearly died before the Bills’ medical staff - led by Denny Killington who performed CPR - saved his life.

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It was an event that was so traumatic, the NFL decided that night to postpone the game, and then a day later ultimately canceled the game that carried major playoff ramifications.

Damar Hamlin's incredible comeback

Hamlin has been on a miraculous comeback trail ever since as he returned to practice in the spring of 2023, made the Bills’ 53-man roster, and while he played in only seven games last season counting the playoffs, the very fact that he was playing was one of the great stories in the NFL, even though voters somehow determined that Joe Flacco coming off his couch in December to lead the Browns into the playoffs was more worthy than Hamlin as comeback player of the year.

Even Flacco said he shouldn’t have won the award because he literally came back from nothing but inactivity.

Now it is 2024, Hamlin is entering into the final season of his original four-year rookie contract, and he has defied the odds yet again as coach Sean McDermott revealed Wednesday that the 26-year-old medical marvel will start at safety Sunday when the Bills host the Arizona Cardinals.

“Truly a blessing, you know what I mean?” Hamlin said after practice Wednesday. “I reflect back on the whole process and not knowing if I would even be able to play again. Sitting in that uncertainty was like eating at me because football is truly my passion, it's the thing that I've always been obsessed with my entire life. It just all goes to the power of being process oriented and taking things one day at a time and accepting where you are at each moment of the process truly allows you to conquer anything you’re facing.”

No one is more impressed by Hamlin’s process than McDermott.

“What else (can) this young man do?” McDermott said when he was asked about his decision, and the scale of Hamlin’s accomplishment. “What he went through on the field, you guys have written about that over and over, and I mean, to come back from that … it’s one thing to come back off of an ACL or a broken bone. It’s another thing to come back off of what he came back off of, right, let alone just to decide to play football and contact football in full pads at the NFL level.

“I don’t think I need to say anything more. It’s incredible. I think God’s hand has been on Damar and his family and will continue to be, and we’re just extremely proud and full of gratitude to watch him go through what he’s went through and where he is now.”

Hamlin perhaps won the Week 1 job by default. Going into the season, as they sought ways to replace the departed safety tandem of Micah Hyde and Jordan Poyer, the Bills made three key moves. In free agency they re-signed Taylor Rapp, they signed free agent Mike Edwards away from the Chiefs, and they used a second-round pick to draft Cole Bishop.

The plan seemed pretty clear: Rapp and Edwards were the likely starters, Bishop would be a backup as he learns on the job as a rookie, and Hamlin would fight for a roster spot as the fourth safety and as a special teams contributor.

But then Edwards got hurt and missed most of the spring, and he got hurt on the second day of training camp and missed most of the summer including all of the preseason. Bishop was injured early in camp and also missed the entire preseason, so Hamlin wound up taking the bulk of the first-team reps alongside Rapp.

Hamlin himself got hurt late in camp as he pulled a hamstring, but given that he did have time on task, plus he’s in his fourth year in McDermott’s defense, the coach determined that he’s the best option, at least against the Cardinals.

“Yeah, I think it’s consistency and opportunity, right?” McDermott. “The opportunity that was there, he took advantage of it and was consistent, built a certain level of rapport with T-Rapp and that’s important as well at the safety position. So watching those two communicate, so anxious to watch both of them play this weekend.”

Hamlin was wearing a t-shirt that read, “Don’t quit” and not quitting last year when there were times he probably could have is the reason why he’s in this position now.

“It aligns right with who I am,” he said. “I thank everybody in this building from top down for supporting me and giving me the space to allow me to heal and have my process exactly how I needed it to go. It truly propelled me into allowing myself to be free this season. Last season was primarily just about healing and making myself do the hard stuff, thrusting myself into things that were uncomfortable, that maybe were fearful or gave me anxiety. I was doing the hard stuff last year to make it easier this year.”

Sal Maiorana has covered the Buffalo Bills for four decades including 35 years as the full-time beat writer for the D&C, and he has written numerous books about the history of the team. He can be reached at maiorana@gannett.com, and you can follow him on Twitter @salmaiorana. https://profile.democratandchronicle.com/newsletters/bills-blast

This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Damar Hamlin is Bills starter for first time since on-field collapse