Bills safety Damar Hamlin's return to NFL action delayed

There were conflicting reports on Monday morning as to why Hamlin will likely be inactive, with ESPN's Robert Griffin III saying on X, formerly known as Twitter, that the Bills were "prioritizing playing it safe with Damar for now," while NFL Network's Mike Garafolo reporting that the decision was made due to a "numbers crunch in the defensive backfield."

The 25-year-old's next chance to make his return will come in Buffalo's Week 2 contest, scheduled for 1 p.m. ET on Sunday against the Las Vegas Raiders.

Although Hamlin's comeback to games that count in the standings is being put on the backburner, he played in all three of the Bills preseason games, posting nine solo tackles.

It's been 252 days since the former sixth-round pick's on-field collapse during Buffalo's Week 17 game against the Cincinnati Bengals and every stage of his recovery since then has been monitored closely across the sports world.

Hamlin was a full participant in practice for the first time since the January incident in early June and took part in a practice with full pads for the first time since January at the end of July.

The Bills are slated to start 32-year-olds Micah Hyde and Jordan Poyer at the safety positions. Poyer made his first career Pro Bowl in 2022, finishing with a team-leading four interceptions and ranking fourth on the squad in passes defended (eight) despite missing four games.

The team's projected depth chart shows Hamlin as Hyde's direct backup.

Hamlin finished the 2022 season with 91 combined tackles, six tackles for loss, three quarterback hits, two passes defended, 1.5 sacks and one forced fumble across 15 games (13 starts).