Damar Hamlin trains in his helmet at Bills practice for the first time since his cardiac arrest 

Buffalo Bills defensive back Damar Hamlin was wearing his helmet during his teams OTA’s on Tuesday afternoon.

According to ESPN’s Alaina Getzenberg, Hamlin was a full participant in practice as training camp is fully underway.

Getzenberg says that Hamlin was slow to get up from a contested ball during a team drill and spent time with trainers looking at his right arm.

After apparently throwing his helmet in frustration, he eventually returned to practice and kept participating.

Hamlin, like the rest of the team, was not wearing full pads – something that will likely not happen for a few more weeks.

Buffalo Bills defensive back Damar Hamlin was seen at practice wearing his helmet

This is the first time Hamlin has been seen in a helmet since his cardiac incident in January

Hamlin has made a full recovery and was cleared to return to football activities in April

It’s the first time that Hamlin has been practicing in his helmet since his cardiac arrest back in early January.

Hamlin’s tackle on Cincinnati’s Tee Higgins caused commotio cordis – a disruption of his heart’s rhythm due to sudden trauma to the chest.

The DB spent a number of days in the hospital before eventually being released after making a fully recovery.

He was fully cleared to return to football activities back in April and was seen working out with teammates.

Since being released from the hospital, Hamlin has teamed up with the American Heart Association for a campaign to teach a simple version of CPR. 

He’s also met President Joe Biden at the White House and advocated for access to defibrillators in schools with Congressional leaders.

After he was cleared to return, Hamlin held a press conference announcing that he wanted to return to play. 

‘I’m thankful and I’m blessed,’ Hamlin began. ‘I’m blessed to have a wonderful medical staff and wonderful trainers here, who treat me with the care of their children.

Hamlin spent a number of days recovering in a Cincinnati hospital before being released

Back in April, just months after his cardiac arrest, Hamlin was cleared to return to football

In a press conference in April, Hamlin said that he wanted to return to playing the game

‘That tender love and care just gives me confidence, faith, strength, just all the wonderful things to just keep going in this journey I’ve been on so far…

‘Over these last few months, I’ve been on a journey and I’ve seen some of the top professionals across the country. Their answers to me were pretty much all the same. … This event was life changing, but it’s not the end of my story, so I’m here to announce that I plan on making a comeback to the NFL.

‘The diagnosis of pretty much what happened to me was basically commotio cordis. It’s a direct blow at a specific point in your heartbeat that causes cardiac arrest. Five to seven seconds later, you fall out and that’s pretty much what everyone was seeing January 2 of this year.

He added, ‘My heart is still in it. My heart is still in the game. I love the game. It’s something I want to prove to myself, not nobody else. 

‘I just want to show people that fear is a choice, that you can keep going in something without having the answers and without knowing what’s at the end of the tunnel.’