Former Penn State WR KJ Hamler has been diagnosed with pericarditis, a mild heart irritation, he announced via Instagram Monday afternoon.
Mike Garafolo of the NFL Network reported that Hamler’s NFL team, the Denver Broncos, are expected to waive him, but it’s “procedural with an eye toward bringing him back.”
The #Broncos plan to waive WR K.J. Hamler today with a non-football illness designation, sources say, though the transaction is procedural and designed with an eye toward bringing him back. Hamler’s condition isn’t overly serious and he’s expected to miss weeks, not months. pic.twitter.com/L6nWYvSMrV
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) July 31, 2023
“Hamler’s condition isn’t overly serious, and he’s expected to miss weeks, not months,” Garafolo wrote.
Hamler, who’s been with the Broncos since 2020, wrote that while working out ahead of Denver’s training camp, he started feeling chest pains and decided to get himself checked out.
He made it clear in his post that he still plans to play in 2022 and is feeling good physically.
Hamler’s been through a lot in his NFL career. He missed the end of his rookie season due to a hamstring injury stemming from his Penn State days. He missed all but three games of the next season due to a torn ACL and missed more than half of last season after the hamstring flared up again.
KJ Hamler was an electrifying player at Penn State and went in the second round of the 2020 Draft with the No. 46 overall pick. Hamler signed a 4-year, $7,137,128 rookie contract, including a $2,750,638 signing bonus. In his rookie season, Hamler caught 30 passes for 381 yards and three touchdowns.
Hamler finished his career at Penn State with 98 catches for 1,658 yards and 13 TDs, including a long score of 93 yards.
He caught 56 passes for 904 yards and eight TDs in 2019.
Overall, Hamler appears to be in high spirits.
“I’ve got a great treatment plan with medicine and am taking a quick break to get this all taken care of so I can get back to doing what I love,” Hamler wrote. “I will be back on the field– better and stronger than ever– as soon as possible this season! I feel great physically, and this is very frustrating for me to deal with. I know most of you have heard or know of my story and these past few years what I’ve been going through on and off the field.”
