Even Steelers players excited for Damar Hamlin's homecoming Saturday

Joey Porter Jr. is understandably excited to make his professional debut Saturday night at Acrisure Stadium. But he also is eager to watch a player on the opposing team who already has about three dozen games worth of NFL regular-season and preseason experience.

It would have been special for McKees Rocks native and former Pitt standout Damar Hamlin just to play at what is now Acrisure Stadium for the first time as a pro. But after Hamlin terrified the NFL world when he went into cardiac arrest and needed to be resuscitated on the field during a game seven months ago, that Hamlin is able to play for the Buffalo Bills against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Saturday night is meaningful to a much greater degree.

“It’s going to be great,” Porter, the Steelers’ rookie cornerback, said earlier this week. “He’s a Pa. guy, he’s a Pittsburgh guy and what he’s done in the past couple months has meant a lot to everybody, giving back and being with the youth and everything has been great. I just can’t wait to see him suit up and play.”

Hamlin earlier this spring was given the all-clear from physicians to return to full activity, and he has taken on a significant workload during the Bills training camp. A safety, Hamlin played 26 snaps during Buffalo’s preseason opener last week at home against the Indianapolis Colts.

As fate would have it, Hamlin’s first road game since his Jan. 2 incident in Cincinnati will come at the stadium (then called Heinz Field) where he played his home games for Pitt from 2016-20.

“I’m going to see my entire family. I’m going to see my entire city,” Hamlin told Buffalo media earlier this week. “I think it will probably be electric down there. I can’t wait.”

After Hamlin made what appeared to be a routine tackle against the Bengals during a Week 17 game last season, his heart stopped as a result of commotio cordis, which is when a direct blow at a specific point in a heartbeat causes cardiac arrest. He spent nine days in a Cincinnati hospital but since recovering has spent time raising money for his Chasing M’s Foundation charity and raising awareness for the importance of learning CPR and in having automatic electronic defibrillator (AED) machines on site at public locales.

The Steelers plan to acknowledge Hamlin during pregame introductions before the 6:30 p.m. kickoff Saturday.

“The city loves him,” said Steelers safety Tre Norwood, who got to know Hamlin as they prepared during the run-up to the 2021 draft together. “I know he is probably excited to come back home and play in front of his hometown this weekend. It’s going to be great.”

Bills coach Sean McDermott told the Associated Press that Hamlin has showed no signs of hesitation throughout practices nor in the game against the Colts.

After the Colts game, McDermott called Hamlin’s performance “a remarkable display of courage and strength and faith,” while adding: “What we just witnessed, to me, is remarkable.”

An all-state performer at Central Catholic who was second-team all-ACC his final season at Pitt, Hamlin started 13 of the 15 games he played last season after appearing in 14 games mostly on special-teams as a rookie in 2021. This season, Hamlin is in the running to serve as Buffalo’s third safety behind starters Micah Hyde and Jordan Poyer.

But regardless of what role he serves, Hamlin’s mere presence at practice and with the team has served as an inspiration for fans and players across the league.

“That shows you how great our God is. That’s a true testimony,” Norwood said. “It’s going to be a nice homecoming for him, being able to come back on the field here at a stadium he played in in college. I know Pittsburgh is going to show him so much love.”

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