Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin collapsed on the field Monday night and was administered CPR before being taken to a hospital, where the NFL said he was in critical condition, and Buffalo’s game against the Cincinnati Bengals was suspended for the night.
The NFL announced just over an hour after the injury that play would not resume.
“Our thoughts are with Damar and the Buffalo Bills. We will provide more information as it becomes available,” the league said in a statement. “The NFL has been in constant communication with the NFL Players Association, which has agreed to postpone the game.”
Hamlin collided with Bengals catcher Tee Higgins after completing what appeared to be a routine, if violent, tackle. He rose to his feet, appeared to adjust his mask with his right hand, then fell back about three seconds later and lay still.
Hamlin was treated on the field by independent and team medical personnel and local paramedics, the NFL said. He was surrounded by stunned players from both teams.
An ambulance was on the field four minutes after Hamlin collapsed, with many players crying, including cornerback Tre’Davious White. The quarterbacks, Buffalo’s Josh Allen and Cincinnati’s Joe Burrow, hugged.
Buffalo Bills’ Spencer Brown (79) reacts as teammate Damar Hamlin is examined during the first half of an NFL football game against the Cincinnati Bengals, Monday, Jan. 2, 2023, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Jeff Dean)
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Hamlin collapsed at 8:55 p.m., and when he was carried off the field 16 minutes later, the Bills gathered in prayer. He was taken to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center. Five minutes after the ambulance had left, play was suspended and the players slowly walked off the field to their changing rooms.
Hamlin’s uniform was cut up and he appeared to be receiving CPR from medical personnel. ESPN reported in its broadcast that Hamlin also received oxygen.
“No one has ever been through this,” veteran NFL quarterback Troy Aikman said on the ESPN broadcast. “I’ve never seen anything like it, either.”
The Bengals led 7-3 in the first quarter of a game between teams competing for the AFC’s top playoff seed. Cincinnati entered 11-4 and leading the AFC North by one game over Baltimore, while AFC East champion Buffalo was 12-3.
The aftermath of the injury recalled when Bills tight end Kevin Everett lay motionless on the field after making a tackle on the second half kickoff in Buffalo’s 2007 season opener against the Denver Broncos.
Everett suffered a spinal cord injury that initially left him partially paralyzed.
Hamlin, 24, spent five years of college in Pitt, his hometown, appearing in 48 games for the Panthers during that span. He was a second-team All-ACC player as a senior, was voted team captain and was selected to play in the Senior Bowl.
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He was drafted in the sixth round by the Bills in 2021, played in 14 games as a rookie and then became a starter this year after Micah Hyde missed the season with injury.
Entering the game, the 6-foot, 200-pound Hamlin had 91 tackles, including 63 solo tackles and 1 1/2 sacks.
A tweet from Pitt’s soccer account was simple and clear: “Damar Hamlin is the best of us. We love you 3,” the tweet read, referring to Hamlin by his college jersey number. “Praying for you.”
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