Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin addresses the media on Wednesday after being named a starter for Sunday's Week 1 matchup with the Arizona Cardinals in Orchard Park. (Courtesy of the Buffalo Bills)
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00:00Good, let's put the message you got in the shirt, don't quit.
00:04Yeah, it does, it aligns right with who I am, don't quit.
00:11Share with us, it's been a long road for you, and it's always been your goal to
00:16get back to discipline, what's it been like to be there right now?
00:20Truly a blessing, you know what I mean?
00:23I reflect back on the whole process, and
00:27not knowing if I will even be able to play again.
00:30Sitting in that uncertainty was like eating at me,
00:33it was really eating at me because football is truly my passion.
00:37It's the thing that I've always been obsessed with my entire life.
00:40So I'm just sitting back and thinking all the way back then.
00:45But it just all goes to the power of being process oriented and
00:49taking things one day at a time and accepting where you are at each moment of
00:53the process, it truly allows you to conquer anything of what you're facing.
00:59How much did that skip, skipping a step?
01:01And going through the foundation, which went to the flesh, but not skipping a step.
01:06And you've talked about how to put your mind close to the mission.
01:09How much did that all help get you to this point?
01:14Yeah, not skipping a step was important.
01:15And last year primarily was, for me, just about healing.
01:21And coming back into myself, who I always was, and then who I was trying to become.
01:26And I thank everybody in this building from top down for supporting me and
01:31giving me the space to allow me to heal and have my process exactly how I needed to go.
01:37And it truly propelled me into allowing myself to be free this season.
01:44Last season was primarily just about healing and making myself do the hard
01:48stuff, thrusting myself into things that were uncomfortable, that maybe were fearful,
01:54or gave me anxiety, but I was doing the hard stuff last year to make it easier this year.
02:00You talked during training camp about just from a football perspective,
02:03wanting to be more consistent with everything.
02:05Where do you feel you're at with that?
02:07Sean talked about your consistency too, but
02:09just what feels like the biggest step just from a strictly football standpoint?
02:13One thing we talk about is consistency is the true mark of greatness.
02:17And I wrote that quote down on a sticky note.
02:20I write all my quotes down on sticky notes and stick them all over my bathroom.
02:24So I can, as I wake up in the morning and do whatever I need to do,
02:28I'm reminding myself of the things I wanna take with me for the day.
02:31And consistency being the mark of true greatness is something that resonates well
02:36with me, and I got to watch some of the greats do the same thing I'm doing right now.
02:42And I watched them be consistent in their processes.
02:45So I'm truly being process-oriented, and
02:47I'm trying to make my process at a championship level day in and day out.
02:51Is it a new sticky note every day, or how often do you update your quotes?
02:56So I read a lot, so if I find something I like, or
03:01it's a lot of knowledge just walking through these buildings.
03:04We really got a lot of mentors as coaches and as teammates.
03:07So I'm always keeping my notebook around me,
03:10writing stuff down to take home later, jot it down.
03:13You had a lot of key veterans here around you since you were a kid.
03:16Who have you learned from the most that have helped you get to this point?
03:21Man, it's hard to pinpoint just one.
03:24The coaches, Micah, Jordan.
03:28They're probably the main two that I gotta give credit to.
03:32Whether it was hands-on or not, I was learning, I was a sponge.
03:36It wasn't hard to come in and just watch and just learn.
03:40So them two primarily, and the guys up front, Vaughn, just a lot of the true leaders.
03:47I'm blessed to have K-Jack in the building now, 15 years of experience.
03:52I'm picking his brain as much as I can.
03:55But just everybody, there's always something you can learn from anybody.
03:58And whether you filter out what you need and let the other stuff fly by.
04:03Samaras, that night in Cincinnati gets further and further into the rearview mirror.
04:08How much do you think about it as much versus all the other things that you've
04:14heard over the last season, like you say, the feeling?
04:19What do you find yourself reflecting on?
04:23As much as I'm growing and evolving into a new person, I think about it all the time.
04:31As much as the world experienced it, it happened to me, you know what I mean?
04:34So I think about it all the time.
04:37There's moments where, but I enjoy that part of it because it allows me to stay
04:42connected with the reason why I'm here and my true purpose, you know what I mean?
04:46And to know that I'm blessed in many reasons.
04:50And I have a second chance at doing things the right way in all areas of my life.
04:54So the more that I think about that, the more that it connects me to
04:59my blessings of why I'm here.
05:01And I would never want to disrespect my blessing.
05:03So I take this opportunity and this process super serious.
05:07Sean told us it was a defensive coach that told you you'd be starting.
05:10Can you just tell us a bit more about when you found out who it was and
05:13what that was like?
05:14I've been so process oriented and
05:19taking things one day at a time that I was super excited, like not gonna lie, man.
05:25It's like a dream come true to work so hard and then get what you worked for.
05:30But I wanna continue on, it's not about just performing in one game.
05:36I wanna be able to take my process and
05:40make it allow me to be successful the entire run.
05:42So I'm head down, I'm just focused on doing my 111 and
05:48making sure that I'm doing everything I need to do to help our defense be successful.
05:53What's your comfort level with Taylor Rapp right now and
05:57being back there with him and communicating with him?
06:00Very comfortable, I love playing with T-Rapp, T-Rapp is a leader, he's a vet.
06:06He's been in the league a long time and he's seen success at the highest level in
06:09this league, which people that have played 20 years
06:13don't reach the success that he has in this league at one point.
06:17So we've built chemistry for these past two seasons.
06:22Behind the scenes, behind, day in, day out,
06:25just being with the tools or whatever the case may be.
06:28And as we worked through this year, just getting on the same page,
06:32it was pretty much easy because he takes his game serious,
06:35he takes his process serious, and so do I.
06:38So we just pass reminders back and forth and then we just go focus on making plays.
06:42What's, go ahead.
06:45You mentioned last year about getting past things,
06:48you were being critical of your time, anxiety.
06:51Some of those things that maybe wouldn't have been those feelings a year ago,
06:55but you're beyond them now.
06:56Man, as you can imagine, it was everything, it was a process.
07:03Like I said, man, being process-oriented truly got me here.
07:07I remember before camp last year, I was right here on the indoor with Nate,
07:11our trainer, and I was doing tackling drills before the first day that we put
07:16on pads, just being able to get that little hint of contact before we went
07:24into it as a team.
07:25And that's kind of how we walked the whole process down from the day that I sat
07:29in front of y'all and said I was coming back to play.
07:31We walked the process down step by step by step by step by step.
07:35And being in the moment of each part of the process allowed me to ultimately be
07:41where I am right now.
07:42Amar, you proved to your coaches a couple years ago you started 13 games,
07:47and now you've proven it again, you know, now,
07:51getting the opportunity and the trust from them.
07:53Have you thought about that?
07:55I mean, that's an important thing.
07:56Obviously, you have to trust the coaches and all, but to be in that role,
07:59do you think about what that was like, showing them that you're back to being
08:04that guy, maybe even better than you felt in 2020?
08:08Yeah, it was a journey, man.
08:09I just had to prove myself.
08:11And, you know, it was just day in, day out.
08:13But, you know, I just kept my focus internal and how I can show
08:17up the best me each day.
08:19And, you know, I competed with myself, you know, in a competition,
08:22in a competitive environment.
08:23You know, I kept my competition internal, and I think that allowed me
08:26to be my best self.
08:27So, you know, I'm using the past experience, however many starts you said it was,
08:31I'm using the past experience to allow me to, you know, be more of a veteran presence
08:36out there on the field this year.
08:37What stands out to you about the Cardinals offense as you're preparing for them?
08:42James Conner, man, that's my brother.
08:44You know, somebody that I've, you know, been a fan of for a very long time.
08:51You know, I came in the pit watching him go through his process, you know,
08:55overcoming his cancer.
08:56And, you know, I watched him fight back and just overcome so much adversity
09:01and then get back to success on the field.
09:03And, you know, it was not easy for him.
09:04But, you know, that was somebody I truly leaned on as well going through my process.
09:10And, you know, he was there every step of the way just as he's been,
09:13you know, my entire life.
09:14So, you know, that's my man.
09:16Shout out to him.
09:19Thank you, guys.
09:21For sure.