Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin has a few more visits to doctors before determining whether he can pursue his goal of returning to play football after going into cardiac arrest and having to be resuscitated on field in January.

In providing the update at the NFL combine in Indianapolis on Tuesday, Bills General Manager Brandon Beane said Hamlin’s “end game” is to resume playing so long as he receives the necessary medical clearance.

“If we’re able to get full clearance and he feels he’s ready to do it, that’s another big smile of a story. Not only that he’s just got his life back, but that he’d have his football career back,” Beane said. “I would love to give the storybook ending that he’s definitely going to play, but we just don’t know that yet. But if he does, we’ll be very happy for him.”

Beane said “all is well” with Hamlin’s test results after visiting numerous specialists around the country, with two or three more visits still scheduled. He said the Bills medical staff is traveling with Hamlin to get a clear picture of the player’s status, because the team would also have to provide clearance in allowing him to return to the field.

Hamlin has enjoyed what doctors are calling a remarkable recovery since collapsing on the field after making what appeared to be a routine tackle in the first quarter of a game against the Bengals which was suspended and eventually canceled.

The second-year player from Pittsburgh’s exurb of McKee’s Rock spent nearly 10 days recovering in hospitals in both Cincinnati and Buffalo before being released. He eventually began visiting the Bills facility and attended the team’s season-ending 27-10 loss to Cincinnati in the divisional round of the playoffs.

Hamlin has since made numerous appearances around the country, including during the Super Bowl festivities in Arizona, where he received the NFLPA’s Alan Page Community Award. He also took part in a pregame ceremony in which the NFL honored the Bills and Bengals training and medical staffs and first responders who treated the 24-year-old.

• Buffalo defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier is taking a year off from coaching but plans to return for the 2024 season, the team announced.

The team did not provide any other details on Frazier’s decision, which comes a little over five weeks after the three-time AFC East champion Bills were eliminated with a 27-10 loss to Cincinnati in the divisional round of the playoffs.

Speaking at the NFL combine at Indianapolis, Beane said Frazier informed the team of his decision last week.

GIANTS: A person familiar with the situation says the New York Giants have told Kenny Golladay and his agent he will be released on March 15 after two horrible seasons.

The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the team doesn’t plan to announce the move until it is official. March 15 is the start of the 2023 NFL season.

The move was expected after Golladay caught 43 passes and one touchdown in his time with the team after signing a four-year, $72 million contract. The only question was when it would happen.

Making the move on March 15 will allow the Giants to get Golladay off the books for the 2024 season. They will save roughly $6.7 million in cap space this year and will have $14 million in dead cap money.

New York could have made the move on June 1 but some money would have carried over to the ’24 season.

General Manager Joe Schoen did the same thing last season with James Bradberry when the cornerback was released in a move to help the Giants with salary cap woes.

FALCONS: Atlanta released quarterback Marcus Mariota, a move that was expected after the veteran was benched late in the season.

The Falcons were 5-8 with Mariota as the starter before rookie Desmond Ridder started the final four games, winning two.

“We really appreciate Marcus and all the things he did while he was here, personally, professionally, great man,” General Manager Terry Fontenot said at the NFL scouting combine.

“We just feel we’re doing what’s best for the team at the time but appreciate him and what he did while he was here.”

Mariota signed a $10.5 million, two-year deal with Atlanta after the Falcons traded longtime starter Matt Ryan to Indianapolis. Mariota completed 184 of 300 passes for 2,219 yards with 15 touchdowns and nine interceptions. He rushed for 438 yards and four touchdowns.

After Mariota was benched, he left the team to have season-ending knee surgery. The Falcons are expected to save approximately $12 million in salary cap space by cutting Mariota.

Falcons owner Arthur Blank said at the Super Bowl he is excited about building the team around Ridder. Fontenot also had praise for Ridder and said the team will look for help at the position in the NFL draft or free agency.

BROWNS: General Manager Andrew Berry said that the team will release veteran safety John Johnson III, who signed a three-year $33.75 million contract as a free agent two years ago.

Johnson hasn’t lived up to his big deal, and the Browns need to clear out space under the salary cap in order to upgrade a defense that had numerous issues last season.

The team will save $9.75 million in cap space if they release Johnson with a post-June 1 designation.

COMMANDERS: The team is denying the contents of a newspaper report about the team’s sale process and demands being made by owner Dan Snyder.

The team, in a statement late Monday, said a story published hours earlier by The Washington Post is “simply untrue.”

Citing anonymous sources, the Post reported that Snyder and his attorneys have demanded that NFL owners and the league indemnify him against future legal liability and costs if he sells the team and threatened to sue if not. The Post said Snyder also wants the findings of a league investigation into him kept private and that his demands angered owners and renewed discussion about possibly taking a vote to remove him.

An NFL spokesperson declined to comment Tuesday on the Post report.

• The Washington Commanders have put the franchise tag on Daron Payne, solving one of their biggest offseason problems by keeping the standout defensive tackle under contract following the best season of his NFL career.

Payne will earn just over $18.9 million if he plays on the franchise tag next season, a likelihood given Washington already had extended fellow Alabama defensive lineman Jonathan Allen and still need to determine a course of action on pass rushers Montez Sweat and Chase Young.

PANTHERS: Carolina will meet with free-agent quarterback Derek Carr this week at the NFL scouting combine in Indianapolis, according to a person familiar with the situation.

The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Tuesday because the team doesn’t announce its meetings with free agents. The NFL Network was first to report the planned meeting.

The Las Vegas Raiders released Carr on Feb. 14 rather than pay him $40.4 million in guaranteed money.

The 31-year-old Carr already has met with the New York Jets and the New Orleans Saints. Jets general manager Joe Douglas said while speaking at the combine that the team will meet again with Carr sometime this week in Indianapolis.

EAGLES: The NFC champion Philadelphia Eagles are moving on with new offensive and defensive coordinators.

The Eagles promoted quarterbacks coach Brian Johnson to offensive coordinator, replacing Shane Steichen after he left to become head coach of the Indianapolis Colts. The Eagles also named Sean Desai as defensive coordinator, hiring him away from his role as associate head coach with the Seattle Seahawks. Desai succeeds Jonathan Gannon, who left after the Super Bowl to become the head coach of the Arizona Cardinals.

49ERS: Quarterback Brock Purdy’s delayed surgery could happen next week if the swelling in his injured elbow has been reduced.

Purdy was originally scheduled to undergo the operation last week to repair his throwing elbow that got hurt in the NFC championship game. But Dr. Keith Meister delayed the operation because Purdy’s elbow was too swollen.

General Manager John Lynch said Meister will meet with Purdy in Arizona this week when Meister is there at spring training as doctor for the Texas Rangers. If the swelling has been reduced, the operation could happen next week.

BEARS: The Chicago Bears hired longtime Tennessee Titans assistant Luke Steckel as assistant offensive line coach.

SEAHAWKS: Center Austin Blythe announced his retirement after seven seasons with four teams.

Blythe spent last season with the Seattle Seahawks and started all 17 games in the regular season and the team’s one playoff game. Blythe was set to become a free agent when the new league year begins March 15.