Buffalo Rumblings
The Buffalo Bills have a new defensive coordinator this season, and with that comes a new philosophy on defense. Regardless of one’s opinion on former head coach and defensive boss Sean McDermott, one clear point of success throughout his tenure came in the development of defensive backs. Whether those defensive backs were veteran cast-offs from elsewhere (Jordan Poyer and Micah Hyde) or players the team drafted themselves (Cole Bishop and Christian Benford, among others), there were far more hits than misses in terms of player development.
The players noted above were clear success stories, and while there was the Kaiir Elam debacle, there were also more than a few instances of late-round players not only making the Bills’ roster, but developing into valuable part-time contributors on defense. Some of those players may not have executed in all the big moments—I’m looking at you, Dane Jackson—but they surpassed the standard expectations for players who entered the NFL in their respective pathways.
In today’s installment of our “91 players in 91 days” series, we profile a player whose career transcends the playing field.
_____________________________________________________________________________
Name: Damar Hamlin
Number: 3
Position: S
Height/Weight: 6’, 200 pounds
Age: 28 (29 on 3/24/2027)
Experience/Draft: 6; drafted by Buffalo in the sixth round (No. 212 overall) of the 2021 NFL Draft
College: Pitt
Acquired: Sixth-round draft choice
Financial situation (per Spotrac): Hamlin signed a one-year contract worth $1.215 million. Thanks to the veteran’s minimum exemption, Hamlin’s cap number is less than that for the season, as it will be $1.125 million if he makes the team. If he doesn’t, Buffalo will carry a dead cap number of $25,000 for the season, which is the total amount of the signing bonus on the deal.
2025 Recap: Hamlin was relegated to special teams duty last season, playing just 12 defensive snaps in his five games on the active roster. He appeared on 49 special teams snaps over that time, which accounted for 35% of the team’s total through those first five games. All twelve of the snaps he played on defense came in Buffalo’s Week Two blowout victory over the New York Jets. Hamlin tore a pectoral muscle during practice leading up to the team’s Week Six contest with the Atlanta Falcons; he was placed on injured reserve, had surgery, and missed the rest of the season. Hamlin was ramping up to return to play, though, when the Bills were eliminated from contention in the Divisional Round against the Denver Broncos; Buffalo had opened his 21-day practice window leading up to that game. He totaled just one tackle during the 2025 season.
Positional outlook: Hamlin is one of six players listed at safety on the current roster. Wande Owens, Geno Stone, Cole Bishop, Jalen Kilgore, and C.J. Gardner-Johnson are the others. Sam Franklin Jr. and Jordan Hancock are listed at defensive back, but they are safeties, as well.
2026 Offseason: Hamlin has participated in OTAs to date.
2026 Season outlook: It’s hard to discuss Hamlin objectively given all...
