The day before it was official, before Damar Hamlin’s status as the starting safety in Week 1 went from a likely scenario to a concrete reality, he sent a text message to Micah Hyde.
Hyde anchored the Bills defense for seven seasons as a safety alongside Jordan Poyer.
Unless injuries or other factors changed the situation, they would have been starters.
The two All-Pros have been fixtures on teams in a league with a lot of turnover, and the 2021 season in which Hamlin was selected as a sixth-round pick was no exception.
“They were great people, so I just had to sit back, pay attention, learn and soak it up,” Hamlin told The Post on Tuesday while touting his partnership with Invisalign.
But things have changed this offseason.
Poyer joined the Dolphins as a free agent.
Hyde is not retired, but he has not signed with any team and has said this year he will either play for the Bills or retire.
Hamlin texted Hyde on Tuesday, saying he wanted to meet up.
Their departures open up the opportunity for Hamlin to once again be named in the starting lineup for Sunday's Bills-Cardinals season opener, marking the latest step toward an unlikely return to football following a tragic 2023 incident in which he went into cardiac arrest during a game.
“I believe life is about making the most of your circumstances and being ready when the opportunity arises,” Hamlin says. “Proper preparation prevents poor performance.”
Hamlin was previously the starter in 2022-23 when Hyde missed most of the season with a neck injury.
But the last time he started, his life changed.
He suffered cardiac arrest on the field after attempting to make a tackle against the Bengals on Jan. 2, 2023, but his recovery has been an inspirational story told across the NFL in the months since.
He was cleared to resume football activities in April 2023, just four months after undergoing CPR on the field and being placed on a ventilator at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center.
So for Hamlin, and by extension the rest of the Bills players around him, last season was all about winning No. 1.
It was his first training camp practice since his cardiac arrest.
The first snap of the game.
First tackle.
He was a finalist for the league's Comeback Player of the Year award but lost out to quarterback Joe Flacco, despite the latter expressing his support for Hamlin.
His minimal in-game contributions were amplified by the context of events that had occurred the previous year.
The Bills had hoped to get Hamlin into a bigger defensive role in 2024, and that has now become a reality.
That wasn't necessarily guaranteed.
The Bills drafted safety Cole Bishop in the second round.
But now that he's been named the starter for a Super Bowl-contending team, Hamlin's journey back to football will reach a new stage.
The Bills will be relying on Hamlin for at least Week 1 and likely through the rest of the season.
He'll have a chance to make sure the team doesn't lose the consistency it enjoyed under coach Hyde Poyer as a safety.
“I learned everything from those guys,” Hamlin said of Hyde and Poyer. “The way they approached the game, the seriousness they took in prioritizing their work every day. They came to work every day. They showed up and gave it their all. So, that's all my focus.”
