Damar Hamlin is in the building for the Bengals-Bills divisional round playoff game.
CBS crews captured video of Hamlin, his father, mother and little brother arriving at the stadium Sunday afternoon.
Welcome home, @HamlinIsland. ❤️💙#CINvsBUF | #BillsMafia pic.twitter.com/OG88gibcVv
— Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) January 22, 2023
During a timeout before halftime, Highmark Stadium showed Hamlin on the video board, hyping up the crowd and making a heart with his hands.
The Bills just showed Damar Hamlin on the video board at the stadium.
— Caleb Noe (@CalebNoeTV) January 22, 2023
He fired-up the crowd. pic.twitter.com/uazqrrrYGL
Sideline reporter Tracy Wolfson said Hamlin went into the Bills locker room at halftime, when Buffalo was down 17-7.
Hamlin had not been at a Bills game since collapsing on the field during Buffalo's Monday Night Football showdown with Cincinnati on Jan. 2. He spent multiple days at UC Medical Center after officials said he went into cardiac arrest and had to be resuscitated at Paycor Stadium.
Medical officials said Hamlin's recovery has been remarkable, but he still faces a long rehabilitation. A family spokesperson said Hamlin has visited the Bills' facility but still requires oxygen and is having his heart monitored regularly.
The NFL canceled the Bengals-Bills regular-season game following Hamlin's injury. Sunday's divisional round will be the first meeting between the two teams since Monday Night Football.
Both Bengals and Bills fans said Hamlin's injury not only impacted their individual fanbases, but created a lifelong connection between the two fanbases.
"Really, (Cincinnatians) I want to say they ought to be proud of themselves, but that's what you would hope any city would do. I just can't believe the outpouring of love from your doctors to the people providing food to those people. It was amazing," said Bills fan Jill Dolan, who came to Cincinnati for that regular season game. "We just had an awful snowstorm. We had Damar. The outpouring of love and how people surround their people and take care of them that's what I saw in Cincinnati. I wish we could have that happen everywhere. I mean, what a better world if all fans could be like that."