Damar Hamlin’s ongoing recovery after a terrifying on-field collapse from cardiac arrest saw lots of special moments honoring him on Sunday.
With Hamlin watching, his Buffalo Bills began their matchup with the New England Patriots with an incredible Nyheim Hines kickoff return TD. Then, after Bills receiver John Brown scored a late touchdown of his own, he gave the ball to Buffalo athletic trainer Denny Kellington, who performed life-saving CPR on Hamlin on the field on Monday night.
But in another game, the Indianapolis Colts’ Rodney Thomas — who played high school football with Hamlin in their native Pennsylvania — found his own unique way to celebrate his former teammate. After Thomas picked Davis Mills in a thrilling barnburner between Indy and the Houston Texans, he took the ball to pose at a specially marked No. 3 (Hamlin’s jersey number) at the 30-yard line.
It was a beautiful way for Thomas to pay tribute to an old friend:
Rodney Thomas with the beautiful tribute to high school teammate Damar Hamlin ❤️ pic.twitter.com/omMOB7EwiJ
— NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) January 8, 2023
Rodney Thomas and Damar Hamlin were teammates in high school.
Thomas honored Hamlin after getting an INT 🙏 #LoveForDamar pic.twitter.com/vlk6iQ6jml
— ESPN (@espn) January 8, 2023
Here was how Hamlin reacted to his friend’s gesture:
🫶🏾🫶🏾🫶🏾 Rod Dawg! @Rodney_Thomas26 https://t.co/a4UEVGa17E
— 𝐃𝐚𝐦𝐚𝐫 𝐇𝐚𝐦𝐥𝐢𝐧 (@HamlinIsland) January 8, 2023
In a challenging and scary situation, Hamlin seems to fortunately be getting better by the day. And we’re sure he really appreciated Thomas’s gestures and any of the other displays showing support for the Bills player.
NFL fans loved how Thomas paid tribute to his old friend in Hamlin
In tears seeing all this amazing love for Damar Hamlin https://t.co/u28k8o3Ett
— Renee (@Renee77641834) January 8, 2023
Love this ❤️ #BillsMafia https://t.co/XzxAyj4JhW
— Sarah (@OneSchruteBuck) January 8, 2023
— Jessica Martinez (@Jessred1107) January 8, 2023
This was such a beautiful moment https://t.co/XRee8rgfzN
— Omar Zahran (@omarzhrn) January 8, 2023
Yessirrrr Rod!!! ❤️ @Rodney_Thomas26 https://t.co/AZ8cYLQHG3
— Maurice Weathers (@AR3_Reese) January 8, 2023
Sports movie https://t.co/7iIqzJ9Dy4
— Eddie Francis (@yourboyeddie) January 8, 2023
Wonderful https://t.co/rGifdszY0x
— Dañiel Simpson (@DSimpson88) January 8, 2023
Rodney Thomas II honored Damar Hamlin by placing the ball next to the 3 on the 30-yard line ❤️💙❤️💙#LoveForDamar pic.twitter.com/fWcH84zPGQ
— Brian Y (@byysports) January 8, 2023
