Photo by Cincinnati Bengals

7:36 AM – Tuesday, January 3, 2023

Up-dated at 8:38 AM with this Buffalo Bills Statement

The Buffalo Bills issued the following statement at 1:48 am on Damar Hamlin’s condition.

“Damar Hamlin suffered a cardiac arrest following a hit in the Buffalo Bills’ game versus the Cincinnati Bengals. His heartbeat was restored on the field and he was transferred to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center for further testing and treatment. He is currently sedated and listed in critical condition.”

Hamlin’s injury took place at the 5:58 mark of the first quarter. The game was postponed by the NFL after Hamlin received medical attention on the field.

The team and all of the sports world continue to pray for his recovery. Get well soon Damar!

Statement: Cincinnati Bengals

The Bills at Bengals game has been suspended until further notice. We will provide more details as they are available.

From Bengals.com:

The Bengals’ Monday night game against the Bills at Paycor Stadium was postponed when Bills safety Damar Hamlin was taken from the field in critical condition.

Hamlin went down with 5:58 left in the first quarter when he tackled Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins after what appeared to be routine a 13-yard gain. He got up and then suddenly collapsed.

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said Hamlin received immediate medical attention on the field by team and independent medical staff and local paramedics. He was then transported to University of Cincinnati Medical Center.

“Our thoughts are with Damar and the Buffalo Bills,” Goodell said in the statement. “We will provide more information as it becomes available. The NFL has been in constant communication with the NFL Players Association, which is in agreement with postponing the game.”

A pall quickly fell over the most anticipated Monday Night Football game in recent memory that was not only taking place before a national television audience but in front of an overflow crowd thought to be the biggest crowd in Paycor history.

Hamlin, 24, is a second-year player from the University of Pittsburgh.

In a midnight media conference call, Troy Vincent, the NFL’s executive vice president of football operations, said the decision to postpone the game came after the head coaches, Zac Taylor of the Bengals and Sean McDermott of the Bills, met with their teams back in the locker rooms.

“It was fluid and things were changing by the minute. The emotions you can imagine in both locker rooms,” said Vincent, who along with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and NFL Players Association executive director DeMaurice Smith were patched into conversations with the coaches and head referee Shawn Smith.

“I commend both of those coaches. Tough situation to go back and look at 53 men in the locker room to just try and calm people down. It was obvious on the phone with them that emotions were extremely high. It was a very volatile situation and I think the coaches, they led tonight. They led their locker rooms.”

Vincent said there was no thought of resuming the game after a five-minute delay.

“Five-minute warmup never crossed my mind, personally. And I was the one,” Vincent said, “that was communicating with the Commissioner. We never, frankly, it never crossed our mind to talk about warming up to resume play. That’s ridiculous. That’s insensitive. And that’s not a place that we should ever be in.”

Jeff Miller, NFL executive vice president of communications, public affairs & policy, said there has been no thought about how the league plans to address the unprecedented postponement when it comes to a future date. It won’t be Tuesday. The Bills planned to fly home Monday night, although the league said some of Hamlin’s teammates stayed behind to be with him.

“That’s not the consideration right now,” Miller said. “Our concern is for the player and his well-being. At the appropriate time, I’m sure that we’ll have a conversation around the next steps regarding the game.”

The Official Statement from the NFL:

Tonight’s Buffalo Bills-Cincinnati Bengals game has been postponed after Buffalo Bills’ Damar Hamlin collapsed, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell announced.

Hamlin received immediate medical attention on the field by team and independent medical staff and local paramedics. He was then transported to a local hospital where he is in critical condition.

Our thoughts are with Damar and the Buffalo Bills. We will provide more information as it becomes available.

The NFL has been in constant communication with the NFL Players Association which is in agreement with postponing the game.

The NFL Network:

Bills safety Damar Hamlin in critical condition after suffering cardiac arrest; Buffalo-Cincinnati game postponed

Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin, 24, suffered a cardiac arrest after making a tackle during Monday night’s game against the Cincinnati Bengals, the Bills announced early Tuesday morning. He is currently sedated and in critical condition.

With just over six minutes remaining in the first quarter Monday night, Hamlin tackled Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins after a 13-yard catch. Hamlin got to his feet, then collapsed backward. Hamlin received CPR while on the field. According to the Bills, his heartbeat was restored on the field before he was transported in an ambulance to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center for further testing and treatment.

After initially suspending play, the NFL announced the game had been postponed.

“Our thoughts are with Damar and the Buffalo Bills,” the NFL said in a statement on Monday. “We will provide more information as it becomes available. The NFL has been in constant communication with the NFL Players Association which is in agreement with postponing the game.”

The NFLPA said it had been in touch with both teams and the league, and is focused on Hamlin’s “health and well-being.”

Hamlin was attended to immediately by medical staff, with players from both teams surrounding him, many of them visibly emotional. After Hamlin was taken to the hospital, officials spoke with coaches from both teams. The decision was then made to suspend play, with players and coaches exiting the field to the locker room, before the game was ultimately postponed.

On a conference call with the media a couple hours after the game’s postponement, NFL executive vice president of personnel Troy Vincent said there was never any conversation about a five-minute warmup period to resume play, as was referenced during the ESPN broadcast.

“It never crossed our mind to talk about warming up to resume play,” Vincent said. “That’s ridiculous. That’s insensitive.”

Bills players were scheduled to travel back to Buffalo from Cincinnati on Monday night, with a handful of members from the organization staying back to support Hamlin, Vincent said. Members of the Bengals organization, including head coach Zac Taylor, also went to the hospital to check on Hamlin, NFL Network’s Cameron Wolfe reported.

There are currently no plans to resume the Bills-Bengals game and a determination on that will be made at an appropriate time, NFL EVP of communications, public affairs and policy Jeff Miller said on the conference call. The game was halted with six minutes remaining in the first quarter and the Bengals leading, 7-3.

Since his hospitalization, there has been an outpouring of support to a community fundraiser Hamlin previously established.

Hamlin was a sixth-round pick of the Bills in the 2021 NFL Draft. He made his first career start in Week 3 of this season after Buffalo safety Micah Hyde sustained a season-ending injury. Hamlin has remained in the starting lineup ever since.