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Bills WR Drops Cryptic Hint About Damar Hamlin Appearance at Bengals Game

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Damar Hamlin

Getty The Buffalo Bills post a message of support for safety Damar Hamlin on the video board at Highmark Stadium.

Buffalo Bills wide receiver Gabe Davis wouldn’t say if teammate Damar Hamlin might make a surprise appearance at Sunday’s playoff game against the Cincinnati Bengals, but he did drop a strong suggestion to fans to be on the lookout.

In an appearance on the Pat McAfee Show, Davis spoke about his teammate who collapsed on the field and suffered cardiac arrest in the Week 17 game at Cincinnati. Hamlin has made what the team called “remarkable” progress, but has was not able to make an appearance on the sidelines for either of the team’s two home games since the incident.

Davis hinted that this could change on Sunday.

Damar Hamlin’s Return to Highmark Stadium?

In the January 20 episode, McAfee asked Davis how Hamlin has been doing since his collapse and nine-day hospitalization.

“He’s great, walking around the field and doing his thing, taking it one step at a time,” Davis responded. “We’re happy to have him around.”

When McAfee asked whether Hamlin might come out onto the field before the divisional-round playoff game against the Cincinnati Bengals, Davis shrugged and suggested that he would have to wait until Sunday to find out.

“I don’t know,” Davis said. “You’ll have to see.”

The team placed Hamlin on injured reserve after his collapse, and said that he still faces a long recovery ahead. But there had been speculation that he would appear at last week’s Super Wild Card round game against the Miami Dolphins. Carolyn Thompson and John Wawrow of The Associated Press reported hours before the game that Hamlin planned to attend, but the story was updated later with a source close to the team saying his “plans may have changed.”

Hamlin later shared a tweet saying he was watching from home and cheering on his teammates.

“My heart is with my guys as they compete today!” Hamlin wrote, sharing a video from the team’s win over the Dolphins on December 17. “Supporting from home as I focus on my recovery. Nothing I want more than to be out there with them! LFG”

Damar Hamlin Continues to Improve

While Hamlin’s plans for Sunday’s game remained in question, the team did say that he continued to make progress and spent time with teammates at the team facility throughout the week.

“It’s limited, just overall, but he comes in and really just started today or yesterday,” head coach Sean McDermott said on Wednesday, via the Lockport Journal. “Just trying to get back to a little bit of a routine and just get himself back acclimated again and take it one step, baby step at a time here.”

Bills safety Jordan Poyer said it was a major boost to the team to see Hamlin back in the building and doing so well.

“I think it brings everybody’s spirits up,” Poyer said. “I think, you know, the Patriots game, we kind of dealt with the biggest amount of emotions a week later. But like I said, D-Ham’s back in the building now and you know it’s awesome to see his face, awesome to see him smiling, so I don’t think this game will be any different.”

Nathan Dougherty is a sports reporter covering the Buffalo Bills and Detroit Lions for Heavy.com. Previously he wrote for the Rochester Business Journal and served as the assistant editor of athletic trade magazines Coaching Management, Athletic Management and Training & Conditioning. He is based out of Rochester, New York, and loves everything football. More about Nathan Dougherty

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