Damar Hamlin – latest: Buffalo Bills share injury update after cardiac arrest on NFL field

After 24-year Damar Hamlin of the Buffalo Bills makes the clattering tackle, he quickly gets to his feet. He seems to be fine. But after two steps, he collapses, tumbling to the pitch, unable to move.

We know that medical personnel who rushed on to pitch had to restart the player’s heart, before he was evacuated by ambulance and taken to hospital, as players from both the Bills and the Cincinnati Bengals sat or prayed, utterly distraught.

The young man was said to be a critical condition at the University of Cincinnati Medical Centre, where he has been sedated and is undergoing “further testing and treatment”.

There was flood of emotional messages of support from fans and players alike, wishing Hamlin a swift recovery, not least from Tee Higgins, the Bengals player he clattered into. “I’m praying that you pull through bro. Love,” he wrote on Twitter.

But is that it? Is that all that is going to happen? Is that the only soul-searching that is going to take place after this game, that was reportedly only called off after the accident, after the intervention of the two coaches.

Andrew Buncombe gives his take on the Damar Hamlin incident:

Matthew Stafford’s spouse, Kelly Stafford, shared an emotional post to her fellow NFL wives in the wake of Buffalo Bills player Damar Hamlin suffering cardiac arrest on the field during a game.

The 32-year-old podcast host took to Instagram on Tuesday to share her message, where she told wives of NFL players that it was “ok to not be ok” and that she was there for them.

“To all the women who have significant others playing on that field…I’m with you if you’re not ok,” she wrote. “I’m not ok and I continue to ask myself the tough questions.”

Stafford went on to note the concerns she has about her husband and his safety when he’s on the football field.

Unfounded claims about the safety of COVID-19 vaccines proliferated in the hours and days after Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin collapsed during Monday’s game, revealing how pervasive vaccine misinformation remains three years after the pandemic began.

Even before Hamlin was carried off the field in Cincinnati, posts amassing thousands of shares and millions of views began circulating online claiming without evidence that complications from COVID-19 vaccines caused his health emergency.

While cardiac specialists say it’s too soon to know what caused Hamlin’s heart to stop, they’ve offered a rare type of trauma called commotio cordis as among the possible culprits. Physicians interviewed by The Associated Press say there’s no indication Hamlin’s vaccine status played a role, and said there’s no evidence to support claims that a number of young athletes have died as a result of COVID vaccinations.

Bengals coach Zac Taylor has paid tribute to the medical staff that helped Damar Hamlin.

“They were prepared,” Taylor says. “They gave Damar the best chance. I was really impressed and thankful for the work they put in to be ready for moments like that.”

Taylor also praises his fellow head coach Sean McDermott and his words when they met on the field.

Taylor says McDermott told him: “I need to be at the hospital for Damar. I shouldn’t be coaching this game. That, to me, provided all the clarity.”

ICYMI: Damar Hamlin’s family have urged there to be no negative backlash towards the Cincinnati Bengals player who was involved in the incident that saw Hamlin’s collapse.

Wide receiver Tee Higgins was the player tacked by the Buffalo Bills safety before he went into cardiac arrest during the game on Monday night.

Higgins has largely received a huge outpouring of support over the incident but the small amount of negative feeling heading his way has been swiftly and firmly condemned by Hamlin’s family.

“Damar’s parents were a bit frustrated that Tee was receiving any kind of backlash,” said family friend and Hamlin’s marketing representative Jordon Rooney in an interview with NFL Network. “This was a regular football play.

“Tee has reached out, he’s been supportive, so the family doesn’t want any negative backlash towards him at all.”

Bayless then sparked a furious backlash after questioning whether the NFL should postpone the game after Hamlin was taken off the field and left in a critical condition due to the close proximity to the play-offs.

Sharpe elaborated on his disagreement with Bayless’ tweet in an opening monologue to Wednesday’s Fox Sports 1 show: “There’s been a lot of speculation about why I wasn’t on here yesterday and I won’t get into speculation or conjecture or innuendo.

The NFL are currently sorting through their options in regards to the Bengals vs Bills game with the regular season finale due this weekend.

Ian Rapoport mentions that the NFL would consider the match a “no contest” or a tie, that would fall under the commissioner’s discretion and allow the league to go by winning percentage to determine seeds and byes.

Another option is to move back the play-offs and have a Week 19, although Ian Rapoport says that option is “unlikely”.

It would ensure the wildcard weekend is pushed back to the divisional round weekend and so on. It is unclear if this would then mean a one-week build-up to Super Bowl LVII on 12 February or what would happen to the traditional Pro Bowl slot during the weekend before.

ICYMI: Moments after Buffalo Bills defensive back Damar Hamlin collapsed on the field after making a tackle on 2 January, Covid-19 conspiracy theorists and right-wing personalities baselessly blamed his injuries on vaccine side effects.

Anti-vaccine influencers and right-wing media figures have also shared debunked claims about athletes allegedly collapsing after their vaccinations.

Mr Hamlin remains in critical condition after suffering a cardiac arrest, according to a statement on 3 January from the Bills team. His heartbeat was restored “on the field and he was transferred to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center for further testing and treatment,” the statement said.

On his programme that night, Fox News personality Tucker Carlson falsely stated that Mr Hamlin endured a “heart attack” and said medical experts who dismissed Covid-19-related conspiracy theories are “lying” and “witch doctors”.

“What we don’t know could fill volumes,” he said. “We don’t know the answer and there is no way to know the answer.”

The US president told reporters as he arrived back at the White House from Kentucky that he had spoken with Hamlin’s mother and father “at length” as their son remains in critical condition.

The 24-year-old Buffalo Bills player is being treated at a Cincinnati hospital after he made a hit on a Cincinnati Bengals player and collapsed during the game on Monday night.

Damar Hamlin’s collapse has prompted a conference call in NFL circles, with NFL insider Ian Rapoport describing it as “emotional”.

The call’s nature included the “preparedness” of each team for situations such as Hamlin’s, the “emergency action plan” was covered, something not made available to the public or seen until Monday’s game between the Bills and Bengals.

Former NFL cornerback and current NFL executive vice president of football operations Troy Vincent was noticeably moved on the call, stating: “The emergency action plan was executed to perfection and gave our brother Damar another day to live”.