Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin may not play in Pittsburgh now, but he's very open about wearing his Steel City roots on his sleeve.
Hamlin was born in the Pittsburgh area, played for the Pittsburgh Panthers in college and still does a ton of charity work in the city. No matter where he's playing, Hamlin will always have an allegiance to the city.
At a recent Topps trading card event in Pittsburgh, Hamlin did not shy away from stating his desire to play for the Steelers one day when asked about the topic.
"I think end of my career, finishing as a Pittsburgh Steeler would be a dream more so than playing there first because I played at Pitt," Hamlin said. "So I was in the stadium, I played at Heinz Field probably for like eight straight years."
Some may have jumped to conclusions over Hamlin's recent comments, but he truly meant no disrespect to his current team. In fact, the safety took to social media to clear the air on the whole situation and reaffirm his loyalty to Buffalo.
"I answered this from a childhood perspective & this is not my full response to the question! You think a Pittsburgh kid won’t grow up dreaming of playing for the hometown team? No harm or foul in that," Hamlin wrote on X. "#BillsMafia forever tho! Gave the kid a chance."
The Bills were indeed the team to welcome Hamlin into the NFL, as they selected him in the sixth round of the 2021 NFL Draft. He started 13 games for the club in 2022 as Micah Hyde missed most of the season with injury, and filled in quite well as he recorded 91 total tackles.
On Jan. 2, 2023, though, Hamlin went into cardiac arrest during a Monday Night Football game against the Cincinnati Bengals in a moment that sent shockwaves through the sports world. Not only did Hamlin survive that horrifying experience, but made a full recovery and was cleared to return to football just a few months later.
Hamlin played sparingly in 2023, appearing in just five regular season games and both playoff games primarily in a special teams role. It seemed like he had the Comeback Player of Year award locked up just by virtue of returning to football after such a terrifying situation, but Cleveland Browns quarterback Joe Flacco wound up winning it instead.
Hamlin is set to play the final year of his rookie contract in 2024.
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