NFL: Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin in ‘critical condition’ after collapsing on field, needing emergency aid
- Game between Buffalo Bills and Cincinnati Bengals postponed midway through first quarter after incident
- The 24-year-old Hamlin tackled Tee Higgins, got to his feet, then fell to the ground
Bills safety Damar Hamlin was in critical condition after he collapsed on the field on Monday night local time, the NFL said, and Buffalo’s game against the Cincinnati Bengals was postponed indefinitely.
Hamlin was administered CPR on the field, ESPN reported, and he was surrounded by teammates, some of them in tears, after he was hurt while tackling Bengals receiver Tee Higgins on a play that didn’t appear unusually violent.
Higgins led with his right shoulder, which hit Hamlin in the chest. Hamlin then wrapped his arms around Higgins’ shoulders and helmet to drag him down. Hamlin got to his feet, appeared to adjust his face mask with his right hand, and then fell backward about three seconds later and lay motionless.
Hamlin was treated on the field by team and independent medical personnel and local paramedics, the NFL said, and he was taken by ambulance to University of Cincinnati Medical Center. Teammate Stefon Diggs later joined Hamlin at the hospital.
About 100 Bills fans and a few Bengals fans gathered on a corner one block from the emergency room entrance, some of them holding candles.
The NFL announced more than an hour after the injury that players would not return to the field. A few hours later, Jeff Miller, an NFL executive vice president, told reporters on a conference call the league had no plans at present to resume the game, adding that Hamlin’s health was the NFL’s main focus.
An ambulance was on the field four minutes after Hamlin collapsed, with many players in tears, including cornerback Tre’Davious White. The quarterbacks — Buffalo’s Josh Allen and Cincinnati’s Joe Burrow — embraced.
“Please pray for our brother,” Allen tweeted.