Giants' Jason Pinnock anticipating reunion with Bills' Damar Hamlin

New York Giants safety Jason Pinnock can't wait to see Buffalo Bills safety and University of Pittsburgh teammate Damar Hamlin this coming Sunday evening for reasons that have little to do with football. 

"I remember the last time I watched it live, I was in tears," Pinnock said during a chat with Steve Serby of the New York Post about Hamlin's life-changing moment from this past winter. "It’s probably a different set of tears this time. Always good to see my brothers still going in this league, but this one’s gonna be pretty special to me." 

Like so many members of the NFL community, Pinnock watched in horror as Hamlin went into cardiac arrest during a "Monday Night Football" game at the Cincinnati Bengals on Jan. 2. Hamlin has since made a remarkable recovery and thus far has appeared in a single contest this season, Buffalo's 48-20 win over the Miami Dolphins on Oct. 1. 

"I was right on my living room couch," Pinnock recalled about that fateful January night. "I was in such denial. I saw him go down. We all saw the hit, we didn’t think anything crazy, and then I’m like, 'OK.' And then once it got delayed and canceled, that’s when I kind of start panicking. Just like the rest of the world."

Pinnock eventually received a positive update on Hamlin from somebody close to the 2021 sixth-round draft pick before the two talked via FaceTime roughly two weeks after Hamlin was released from Buffalo General Medical Center/Gates Vascular Institute. 

Pinnock remembered that Hamlin said at that time he was "good" and "blessed" despite what had happened in Cincinnati. 

"I didn’t want to hold him too much," Pinnock continued. "That’s obviously all he’s been talking about, and all he’s been answering. I’m not one to bug somebody too crazy." 

The 3-2 Bills and 1-4 Giants seem headed in different directions this fall as they prepare for the upcoming "Sunday Night Football" encounter. As of Thursday afternoon, OddsChecker listed the Giants as 14-point underdogs for the game. 

It's a safe bet Pinnock will have other things on his mind when he sees Hamlin at Highmark Stadium this weekend.