Hamlin back on one-year deal

[DapperCam]

Really hope he doesn’t have to see the field. I suppose he is uniquely qualified for spot duty.

 

One of the strangest moments of last season was when Tua launched his head into Hamlin’s chest, seriously concussing himself.

[GunnerBill]

Just now, MrEpsYtown said:

Ok so he is not good. He's not the worst player ever. If this is a vet minimum deal fine. 

 

My problem with this is that McDermott tends to turn to old reliable mediocre players he trusts when things don't go well. Having Hamlin around is going to make him pull Bishop when he makes a mistake and that will be counterproductive to his development. 

 

Rapp also has an injury history so you are one hit away from Damar Hamlin starting safety again. 

 

I was hoping they brought in real safety completion, and I suppose they still could. I just don't like coach having old reliable around because it becomes a crutch. 

 

Bishop needs to beat Hamlin out first of all. And I am far from convinced he will. He was levels worse than Hamlin when he was on the field last year. 

 

I want a proper freaking free safety. Not a draft pick who is switching position or Hamlin who is a good pro but out of his depth.

[Chandler#81]

meh.. 

on the Plus side, he knows the Defense very well so he’s rarely out of position. On the negative side, he can’t tackle my mother and she’s been dead for nearly 3 years..🤷‍♂️

[thenorthremembers]

I think he outplayed his talent last year.   You need those type of guys on your team.   He knows the system and will compete with a rookie to start.  Dont hate it. 

[DJB]

Just now, GunnerBill said:

 

Bishop needs to beat Hamlin out first of all. And I am far from convinced he will. He was levels worse than Hamlin when he was on the field last year. 

 

I want a proper freaking free safety. Not a draft pick who is switching position or Hamlin who is a good pro but out of his depth.

Bang on. We seriously lack a true FS. 
 

Bishop is fine as the box safety and can compete with Rapp. 
 

But we desperately need a true FS

[Ed_Formerly_of_Roch]

15 minutes ago, BuffaloBillyG said:

I'm actually shocked the Steelers didn't grab him for depth. Great PR move, local kid and knows Tomlin well.

 

I'm ok bringing him back and hopefully it's as depth. But he does have a lot of experience for a guy his age and doesn't prevent the Bills from still going safety at some point in the first two days of the draft if the value is there.

 

That was my guess to the Steelers would have grabbed him.

 

I'm fine with him for depth as he knows the defense.

[DapperCam]

2 minutes ago, ChronicAndKnuckles said:

Why the hate ? He improved last year. Had a few really big plays. He is top tier depth

Our safety play was pretty bad all season. It’s not a mystery why fans were hoping for an upgrade.

 

Was there a worse pair of starting safeties in the league than Rapp-Hamlin? Neither of them would start on most teams. More evidence for that is Hamlin just struck out in FA and is circling back and re-signing probably for near vet minimum.

[JMM]

Everybody understands that this is a short term, backup safety depth move right? There is no way he is starting this year, and there is always the possibility he doesn't make the final roster. In light of that this is a solid move.

[Kirby Jackson]

Just now, GunnerBill said:

 

Bishop needs to beat Hamlin out first of all. And I am far from convinced he will. He was levels worse than Hamlin when he was on the field last year. 

 

I want a proper freaking free safety. Not a draft pick who is switching position or Hamlin who is a good pro but out of his depth.

S was bad last year. It was a problem. We are running it back at this point. They should have upgraded here and still can but early signs are 🤢. They are banking on Bishop becoming a good player. He was a bad player last year. Rapp is okay but just okay. The secondary is still bad.

[Brand J]

I wanted to move on from both Hamlin and Douglas so we wouldn’t have any more 4.6 DBs in the secondary. That unit needs an infusion of youth and SPEED.

[JohnBonhamRocks]

16 minutes ago, wppete said:

Awful. Was hoping to move on from him. We need to improve at safety. Hes a 3rd stringer at best. 

I bet he ends up the third or fourth safety. Bishop and Rapp appear in line to start.

[Einstein's Dog]

4 minutes ago, GunnerBill said:

 

Bishop needs to beat Hamlin out first of all. And I am far from convinced he will. He was levels worse than Hamlin when he was on the field last year. 

 

I want a proper freaking free safety. Not a draft pick who is switching position or Hamlin who is a good pro but out of his depth.

I agree, and a downside of this Hamlin news is it severely reduces the odds of the FO picking up a veteran S now.  Sure the Bills could/should draft someone but that usually takes a while to get to start.

 

It kind of reminds me of when they had Levi Wallace hanging around, you knew he wasn't good and dreaded when he was part of the starting lineup - kind of a weak link.

[DapperCam]

4 minutes ago, JMM said:

Everybody understands that this is a short term, backup safety depth move right? There is no way he is starting this year, and there is always the possibility he doesn't make the final roster. In light of that this is a solid move.

The bolded is what everybody said last offseason. I wouldn’t be so sure. If they don’t bring in real competition and Bishop falters we could be running it back with the same pair of safeties.

Edited March 12 by DapperCam

[34-78-83]

This is clearly a depth signing. Why in the world is that so hard to comprehend? And as a backup, he's better than most, and knows our system intimately. Someone gets injured for a couple weeks....Hamlin goes in and plays unspectacular but mistake free football. That's value for a backup, and a better situation than most teams have.

 

 

[Logic]

I truly believe that Damar's cardiac arrest incident forever clouded many people's ability to evaluate his on-field play in a clear-headed way. 

No, I don't believe Damar Hamlin is a high level NFL starter. Yes, I DO believe that he constitutes good depth, provides a baseline level of acceptable play when he's on the field, and is a great fit in the locker room and the community. 

Every team in the NFL rosters backups that aren't high level starters but can contribute and play useful football. Damar Hamlin is one of those, but to hear some people tell it, he belongs nowhere near an NFL field. 

Do I want him penciled in as starter? Nope. Do I think he can get you out of a three-week stretch with minimal negative fallout if your starer goes down? Yep, absolutely.

I think the emotionality, the politics, the super weird "he's a Make-a-Wish player" argument...all of it...shrouds many people's opinions in emotionality that they can't shake off, and doesn't allow them to respond to or evaluate Damar THE PLAYER in a reasonable way.

I will die on this hill.

[billsfan89]

I like it, I know fans don't really like Hamlin but he is a solid starter and if he's in your safety room competing with Rapp/Bishop and hopefully a mid-round pick you aren't in a bad spot. The fact that he's a willing ST player (and a decent to good one) adds value to having him on the roster. Adding a player that can start and be decent when needed whose also willing to play ST is a positive. 

[Cheektowaga Chad]

If our safeties are rapp bishop Hamlin and a draft pick from the 1st/2nd/3rd 

 

That's not terrible, I don't hate it

 

But NEED serious upgrades at corner then

 

[TheyCallMeAndy]

I love how Bishop has been completely written off lol

[gonzo1105]

Check off Vet Safety backup off the list. Will take a rookie at some point in the draft 

[Captain Hindsight]

I really don't understand the hate for Hamlin. He was a starting quality player. Fans were so spoiled with two all pros for years. Hamlin is what most safeties are in the NFL