Hamlin cheers on Bills from home, says 'heart is with' team

January 15th, 2023

A Buffalo Bills fan holds up a sign in support of Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin (3) prior to an NFL wild-card playoff football game between the Buffalo Bills and the Miami Dolphins, Sunday, Jan. 15, 2023, in Orchard Park, N.Y. (AP Photo/Joshua Bessex)

Bills safety Damar Hamlin, who is still recovering after going into cardiac arrest on the field in Cincinnati two weeks ago, cheered via Twitter from home Sunday during Buffalo’s wild-card playoff home game against the Miami Dolphins.

“My heart is with my guys as they compete today!” Hamlin tweeted less than hour before kickoff.

“Supporting from home as I focus on my recovery. Nothing I want more than to be out there with them!” Hamlin posted, along with a video of himself greeting fans during the Bills’ last game against Miami, which was on Dec. 17.

A person with direct knowledge of the player’s schedule had told The Associated Press on Sunday that Hamlin planned to attend the game in person. He later said those “plans may have changed.”

The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because Hamlin has kept his schedule and recovery private since being released from a Buffalo hospital on Wednesday.

Hamlin visited teammates at the Bills’ stadium on Saturday but has not been seen in public since being rushed off the field in Cincinnati in an ambulance on Jan. 2. He spent more than a week in the hospital, much of the time in critical condition.

His occasional tweets during the game Sunday included a first-half shoutout to his replacement, Dean Marlowe, after he intercepted a pass from Miami quarterback Skylar Thompson.

Charged up fans were eager to blunt the memory of Hamlin’s collapse, when the 24-year-old from the Pittsburgh exurb of McKees Rocks stood up after making a tackle against the Bengals, then fell backwards, landing motionless on the turf at Paycor Stadium.