CINCINNATI – Damar Hamlin, the Buffalo Bills safety who suffered a cardiac arrest on the field on Monday night, has shown “remarkable improvement” over the last 24 hours, according to the team and doctors.
The Bills posted an update on Hamlin on Thursday:
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Per the physicians caring for Damar Hamlin at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center, Damar has shown remarkable improvement over the past 24 hours. While still critically ill, he has demonstrated that he appears to be neurologically intact. His lungs continue to heal and he is making steady progress. We are grateful for the love and support we have received.
NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported that Hamlin opened his eyes last night and is responsive.
#Bills S Damar Hamlin opened his eyes last night and is responsive. Truly incredible. One thing that's very clear from speaking to those close to him: They are endlessly appreciative of the medical care given to Hamlin on the field immediately, then over the last 72 hours.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 5, 2023
NFL teams returned to practice on Wednesday, with some players expressing concerns about playing this weekend following the incident with Hamlin.
Related: Back to work not business as usual for Damar Hamlin’s peers
“I’m sure if you polled the locker room there would be mixed votes on that,” Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow said about playing against the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday. “Personally, I think playing is going to be tough. But there’s people that want to play, and there’s people that don’t. Personally, I probably want to play. I think getting back to as normal as you can as fast as you can is how I deal with these kind of things. But like I said, everybody has a different way of dealing with it.”
The players’ union makes a directory available to all players to help them locate a clinician near them, be it a psychiatrist, psychologist, social worker or counselor.