{"id":279687,"date":"2025-08-11T14:17:10","date_gmt":"2025-08-11T14:17:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/279687\/"},"modified":"2025-08-11T14:17:10","modified_gmt":"2025-08-11T14:17:10","slug":"demarcco-hellams-returns-to-the-nfl-field-after-a-364-day-absence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/279687\/","title":{"rendered":"DeMarcco Hellams returns to the NFL field after a 364-day absence"},"content":{"rendered":"

In Atlanta\u2019s preseason opener last season, safety DeMarcco Hellams<\/a> got hurt on the Falcons\u2019 second defensive snap against the Miami Dolphins. The former Alabama<\/a> defensive back went to the locker room with an ankle injury<\/a> that caused him to miss the 2024 NFL season.<\/p>\n

One day short of one year later, Hellams returned to the field in Atlanta\u2019s 2025 preseason opener against the Detroit Lions on Friday night. He started in the Falcons secondary, played 18 defensive snaps and eight special-teams plays and made two tackles on defense and one on special teams.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like I put my best foot forward out there today,\u201d Hellams said<\/a> after the game. \u201cAnd I was off for a whole year, so that\u2019s all I could think about from the moment of the injury is getting back out there again and just playing out there today. You know, making a few plays, just being out there with my brothers and just finishing the game healthy. <\/p>\n

\u201cI know I didn\u2019t make it through Preseason 1 last year, so just making it through the Preseason 1 Game this year, I just thank God and I thank my teammates and I thank my coaches and training staff for getting me prepared to be out there today.\u201d<\/p>\n

The start of the preseason gave Hellams the opportunity to do what he\u2019s noted for on the football field.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe call him, \u2018Bamm-Bamm,\u2019\u201d Falcons safety Jessie Bates III said<\/a> at training camp. \u201cHe\u2019s not a happy guy right now. He\u2019s always moving with bad intentions of wanting to go hit somebody, and you need that on the football team.\u201d<\/p>\n

A 2023 Pro Bowler, Bates had 10 interceptions and 234 tackles in the past two seasons for Atlanta. Hellams is seeking to rejoin him in the starting secondary, with third-round rookie Xavier Watts and free-agent acquisition Jordan Fuller also vying for the other safety spot.<\/p>\n

Hellams led Alabama in tackles in the 2022 season, but he didn\u2019t get picked in the 2023 NFL Draft until the 224th selection.<\/p>\n

After Hellams made the Falcons\u2019 regular-season roster, he got on the field for 64 defensive snaps and 144 special-teams plays in the first 10 games of the 2023 campaign. After the Falcons\u2019 Week 11 bye, Hellams played 305 defensive snaps and started four times at safety in Atlanta\u2019s next six games. He missed the final contest of a season with a concussion.<\/p>\n

But Hellams couldn\u2019t build on that season because he fractured his left ankle in the 2024 preseason opener. <\/p>\n

\u201cI put my faith in God as far as having the attitude that this did happen to me,\u201d Hellams said<\/a>. \u201cLike, it\u2019s something that I can\u2019t take back, so I tried to rewire my brain from feeling bad for me to kind of starting to feel like it was for me.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s hard. That\u2019s hard to do, for sure, to feel like a setback is a part of your process because I felt like I had big things going for me last year leading up to my injury.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Falcons play the second of their three preseason games at 6 p.m. CDT Friday, when the Tennessee Titans come to Mercedes-Benz Stadium.<\/p>\n

Atlanta lost to the Lions 17-10, but the game did not last the full four quarters<\/a>. On the first play of the fourth quarter, Detroit safety Morice Norris sustained an injury that caused him to be transported directly from the field to a hospital by ambulance.<\/p>\n

When play resumed, the Falcons snapped the football but made no attempt to advance it, and the Detroit defense stayed on its side of the line of scrimmage. Eventually, the players formed a prayer circle and, after more than eight minutes had run off the clock, the game was suspended.<\/p>\n

\u201cLike I said, I\u2019m a faith-based person,\u201d Hellams said<\/a> after the game, \u201cso first thing I did was learn his name, say a prayer for him. I know everybody on the sideline continued to say prayers for him. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe heard some good news about him and just, hopefully, that he makes a full recovery from what happened.\u201d<\/p>\n

On Saturday, Norris posted on social media<\/a>: \u201cI\u2019m all good, man. Don\u2019t stress it. Appreciate all the check-ins and love.\u201d And The Associated Press reported<\/a> the safety returned to the Lions\u2019 training facility on Sunday.<\/p>\n

\"AtlantaAtlanta Falcons safety DeMarcco Hellams tackles Detroit Lions running back Craig Reynolds during an NFL preseason game on Friday, Aug. 8, 2025, at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.(AP Photo\/Danny Karnik)<\/p>\n

FOR MORE OF AL.COM\u2019S COVERAGE OF THE NFL, GO TO OUR NFL PAGE<\/a><\/p>\n

Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on X at @AMarkG1<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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