Buffalo Bills Star Damar Hamlin in Critical Condition After Cardiac Arrest During Game

Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin was in critical condition early Tuesday after suffering a cardiac arrest during a game against the Cincinnati Bengals on Monday night, the Bills said in a statement.

The NFL game was postponed after Hamlin, 24, collapsed on the field—prompting medical personnel to begin CPR and rush him off the field in an ambulance, according to the game broadcast.

The frightening incident happened when Hamlin completed a tackle on Cincinnati wide receiver William “Tee” Higgins with 5:58 left in the first quarter. After he attempted to stand up he quickly collapsed.

As staff tended to him, a number of other players appeared shaken up, including some who were caught on camera with tears in their eyes.

The entire Bills team quickly took to the field and knelt down in prayer as the stadium went silent. Fans in Cincinnati cheered encouragingly as the team retired to its locker room.

“Damar Hamlin suffered a cardiac arrest following a hit in our game versus the Bengals,” the Bills tweeted early Tuesday. “His heartbeat was restored on the field and he was transferred to the UC Medical Center for further testing and treatment. He is currently sedated and listed in critical condition.”

FOX19 reporter Joe Danneman wrote on Twitter that, according to unspecified sources, “I’m told Damar Hamlin has a pulse, but is not breathing on his own.” He added that medical personnel used a defibrillator in addition to administering CPR.

Another FOX19 reporter, Tricia Macke, said he had been intubated.

It took the NFL roughly an hour following the frightening incident to officially postpone the game—as stunned broadcasters sat, often in silence, while they attempted to make sense of the situation.

“This incident feels unique as far as we’ve seen in modern times,” ESPN’s Adam Schefter said from the Monday Night Football Studio. “It was particularly chilling, especially as far as the reaction from players on the field.”

Hamlin is just two years into his NFL career—he was selected as the 212th overall pick during the sixth round of the 2021 draft.

He studied communication at the University of Pittsburgh. In 2020, he launched the Chasing M’s Foundation, which eventually raised more than $100,000 for a community toy drive benefitting children near his hometown of McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania. (Donations continued to pour in on Monday, following his collapse.)

“As I embark on my journey to the NFL, I will never forget where I come from and I am committed to using my platform to positively impact the community that raised me,” Hamlin said at the time.

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