Bills safety Damar Hamlin’s return to active duty after going into cardiac arrest during a game late in the 2022 season was a remarkable accomplishment, but it didn’t earn Hamlin recognition as the NFL’s comeback player of the year in 2023.
Hamlin got the most first-place votes for the award, but quarterback Joe Flacco’s return to starting duty for the Browns got more overall recognition and he won the prize earlier this year. During an appearance on Maggie and Perloff, Hamlin said he felt like he deserved the award but added that he showed support for Flacco and that he feels his comeback “wasn’t something that a trophy can define.”
“I heard about that,” Hamlin said. “I heard some people were in an uproar. I did at first, I’m not gonna lie. I did, a little bit, just because you know I’m a competitor myself. Any competition you put me in, I want to win. I clapped for Joe as he went on stage and clapped for him as he went off. . . . It wasn’t something that a trophy can define.”
Hamlin only played in five regular season games for the Bills last season and the lack of a regular role likely hurt him in the voting for the award at the end of the year. He did play in both playoff games and the Bills saw several regulars in the secondary leave this offseason, so Hamlin may have a chance to make a bigger impact in 2024.