Tragic Injury to Bills Damar Hamlin Leaves Patriots, NFL World in Limbo

The scene at Paycor Stadium last night in Cincinnati during the Bills vs. Bengals game on Monday Night Football sent shockwaves throughout the NFL, and has put the entire league’s world on pause for the time being.

Safety Damar Hamlin, a leader for the Buffalo Bills and his community, made a routine tackle on Bengals WR Tee Higgins during the first quarter of Monday’s game, and briefly stood up before collapsing to the ground.

Medical personnel on site quickly reacted to the situation at hand, performed CPR on Hamlin for nine minutes, and were able to get his heart beating again before he was taken to the University of Cincinnati Hospital for further treatment, testing, and evaluation. It was determined that Hamlin suffered cardiac arrest.

After roughly 90 minutes, the Bengals, Bills, and the NFL made the decision to postpone the remainder of the game.

CLNS Media’s Bengals reporter Mike Petraglia was at the game in Cincinnati and gave an update following the decision to postpone the game:

On Tuesday afternoon, the league announced that the game will not be continued this week, and that week 18 remains unchanged as of now:

“The NFL continues to be in regular contact with the medical team caring for Damar Hamlin, and also the Bills and Bengals organizations and the NFL Players Association.

After speaking with both teams and NFLPA leadership, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell informed the clubs today that the Bills-Bengals game will not be resumed this week.

The NFL has made no decision regarding the possible resumption of the game at a later date.

The league has not made any changes to the Week 18 regular season schedule.

We will continue to provide additional information as it becomes available.”

While this situation is obviously fluid, what this means, as of now, is that the Patriots vs. Bills game on Sunday at 1pm will be played as scheduled.

Patriots players Lawrence Guy, Brian Hoyer, and Myles Bryant are some of the many who have made donations to Hamlin’s The Chasing M’s Foundation Community Toy Drive. The GoFundMe had an original goal of $2,500 raised – and has surpassed $4.5 million since the events on Monday night. An incredible gesture. You can check it out and donate here: LINK TO DAMAR HAMLIN’S TOY DRIVE.

Hamlin’s friend and marketing representative Jordan Rooney tweeted the below on Monday evening:

“His vitals are back to normal and they have put him to sleep to put a breathing tube down his throat. They are currently running tests. We will provide updates as we have them.”

The Buffalo Bills gave the following update on Tuesday, along with a statement from the Hamlin family:

“Damar Hamlin spent last night in the intensive care unit and remains there today in critical condition at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center.

We are grateful and thankful for the outpouring of support we have received thus far.”

FROM THE FAMILY OF DAMAR HAMLIN:

“‘On behalf of our family, we want to express our sincere gratitude for the love and support shown to Damar during this challenging time. We are deeply moved by the prayers, kind words, and donations from fans around the country.

We also want to acknowledge the dedicated first responders and healthcare professionals at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center who have provided exceptional care to Damar. We feel so blessed to be part of the Buffalo Bills organization and to have their support. We also want to thank Coach Taylor and the Bengals for everything they’ve done.

Your generosity and compassion mean the world to us.

Please keep Damar in your prayers. We will release updates as soon as we have them.’

THANK YOU.
THE HAMLIN FAMILY”

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