The Buffalo Bills and the New York Jets open their season tonight on Monday Night Football, but the Bills are going to be without a big name defensively. It has been reported that safety Damar Hamlin will not be activated for this Bills vs. Jets matchup due to a numbers crunch in the Buffalo defensive backfield. He is a healthy scratch for this game and could be available in the next few weeks.
Hamlin has not played since January 2 against the Cincinnati Bengals last season, where he suffered a cardiac arrest on the field and the game was canceled. This is not due to the effects of that, as he has been a full participant during OTAs as well as playing well in all three preseason games.
Hamlin knew this could happen on a weekly basis as he is listed as the backup safety and a special teams player on the Buffalo depth chart. He had a massive 2022 season, as he finished with 91 total tackles, 1.5 sacks, one forced fumble, and a pair of pass deflections. This is something that was expected to happen at points throughout the season but comes as a surprise for Week 1 on a national stage.
Does Damar Hamlin missing Week 1 change the outlook of the Bills vs. Jets game?
In short, the game is not going to change too much as a backup safety does not change too much of the game plan in either direction. The bigger loss is the fact that they will be without linebacker Von Miller for the first four weeks, as he was placed on the PUP List. This will be interesting to see how things work in Aaron Rodgers’ debut with the New York Jets in “JetLife Stadium”.
It will not be surprising if the Bills are waiting for their first home game in Week 2 against the Las Vegas Raiders before allowing Hamlin to step on the field. It would be symbolic as that is where he suffered a cardiac arrest, and returning to the field would be massive there.