Bills GM details next steps for Damar Hamlin after hitting incredible milestone

It was an incredible moment for Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin. Roughly five months after he suffered a cardiac arrest on the football field and came close to losing his life, he strapped on a helmet and was a full participant in OTAs.

That's a major milestone. To think that he was fighting for his life on the football field less than half a year ago and now he's back to doing what he loves — it's incredible. 

Hamlin's recovery isn't yet completed, though. He still has a ways to go before he can once again play for the Bills in NFL action. The good news, though, is that he's making great progress.

"Really proud of him to take that next step," Bills GM Brandon Beane said on Tuesday, per ESPN. "[I] texted his parents [Nina and Mario Hamlin] afterwards, like, just so proud of him and thrilled for where he's at in his journey. He's still got more milestones to hit, but to think back, we're just at the beginning of June and that was the beginning of January, and we were just hoping he'd live, and now he's not only got a normal life, but we're talking about playing, not any football, NFL football. So, thrilled for him, all the people that have been around him, and it's an amazing story."

And as far as what's next for Hamlin? It's time to actually start hitting again. One has to imagine that could create a bit of apprehension for the safety considering the fact that his heart stopped as a result of a football collision, but the Bills do seem to be committed to taking it slow.

"We're just upping his, building his reps up and he's great, like, he's mentally ready to go. He knows the defense. It's Year 3 into it. It's all that," Beane said. "... I thought it was really important for him to, if he could and felt he was ready, you know, this is a two-way communication. This is not us saying, 'You got to do this.' He's worked really hard on the mental side of this, physically he's all cleared, but this is a real deal from a mental standpoint after you've been to where he was. But the next thing will be when we get to St. John Fisher [University, for training camp] ... we'll, through next week, minicamp, continue to ramp him up, with helmets on."