Damar Hamlin is speaking and had his breathing tube removed Friday, the Buffalo Bills announced. He has also been able to communicate with teammates via FaceTime, the team said.
"He continues to progress remarkably in his recovery," the Bills said in a statement. "His neurologic function remains intact and he has been able to talk to his family and care team."
Bills head coach Sean McDermott said Hamlin flexed while on screen in front of the whole team.
The latest development came on the heels of Hamlin making significant progress the previous day, when he was able to communicate with doctors at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center.
The 24-year-old second-year NFL player woke up after being sedated, and his first thoughts after waking up were about Monday night's Buffalo Bills-Cincinnati Bengals game that was suspended and later canceled by the NFL.
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DOCTOR UPDATES:Here's what Damar Hamlin's doctors said about the Bills player's health and recovery
Hamlin’s first comments were to a nurse at his bedside, according to doctors, while his family, friends and members of the Bills organization have remained by his side since he was transported to the medical facility.
Meanwhile in Buffalo, head coach Sean McDermott and quarterback Josh Allen spoke to media members for the first time since Monday night's collapse.
"You lose sleep, you hurt for your brother," Allen said. "The scene just replays over and over in your head. It's hard to describe how I felt, and how my teammates felt in that moment. It's something we'll never forget."
How NFL will honor Damar Hamlin in Week 18
NFL teams will have a variety of ways to show support for Hamlin this weekend. The league has encouraged clubs to read a public address announcement to demonstrate a pregame moment of support.
All clubs may outline the "3" in each 30-yard line number on the field in either Bills Red or Bills Blue. During warmups, players will have the option to wear black Nike t-shirts that display "Love for Damar 3." The shirt will be in royal blue for the Bills players.
The Bills will also wear a No. 3 patch on the left side of their jerseys. Bills personnel will be provided with hats embroidered with a "3" on them.
Sean McDermott: Damar Hamlin 'an infectious young man'
When Hamlin came up on the screen, his teammates stood up right away, clapped and yelled some things to him.
"It was a pretty cool exchange for a few seconds right there," McDermott said. "He was larger than life" on the big screen, the coach added.
It was hard to hear in the room, McDermott said, and the call was not long. But to see and hear him made everybody in the room light up.
"He's just an infectious young man with an infectious personality," McDermott said.
Damar Hamlin speaking, breathing tube removed
Hamlin’s breathing tube was removed overnight, the Bills said. He spent the morning contacting teammates via FaceTime. He also addressed the entire team during meeting, the Bills said.
What did Hamlin say? "Love you boys."
“He continues to progress remarkably in his recovery,” the team said.
"It was a little bit hard to here," McDermott said.
Hamlin has been able to talk with his family and care team. His neurological function is intact.
Dr. Timothy Pritts said Thursday Hamlin had reached a “turning point” in his recovery. He was able to communicate via writing and had movement in his extremities, doctors said.
Who gave Damar Hamlin CPR? Bills trainer Denny Kellington praised
The doctors caring for Hamlin have consistently commended the work of the first responders present at Monday's game. This week, a particular member of the Bills training staff has received kudos for his quick recognition.
Bills assistant athletic trainer Denny Kellington has been with the team since 2017 and had spent the previous 11 seasons at Syracuse University, serving as head athletic trainer for the football team from 2011-17. On Monday, he was one of the first individuals to reach Hamlin on the field and almost immediately began giving him CPR.
Thanks to CPR and a defibrillator, Kellington and the other responders were able to restore Hamlin's heartbeat on the field. During a news conference Thursday, Bills head coach Sean McDermott said the training staff holds routine exercises to train for emergencies.
During a Wednesday night Zoom call from Hamlin’s father, Mario, to the entire team, he implored them to get back to work and, essentially, do Damar proud.
“Damar’s father spoke to the team and really his message was the team needs to get back to focusing on the goals that they had set for themselves,” Bills head coach Sean McDermott said Thursday. “Damar would have wanted it that way, and I’m paraphrasing. So that includes our game against New England this week. And I think that has helped. And then getting the news today was big, a huge help to getting us back to focusing on the game this weekend.”
— Sal Maiorana, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle
What Troy Aikman said about Damar Hamlin
Troy Aikman was in the ESPN broadcast booth during the Bills-Bengals game when Hamlin collapsed.
“This was unlike anything that anyone of my generation [of NFL players] or generations after me may have experienced or witnessed,” Aikman told Sportsradio 96.7 FM/1310 The Ticket on Thursday.
“That’s just not something you anticipate. You anticipate broken bones and blown-out knees and things of that nature, but you don’t anticipate, you know, life-changing events or life threatening events even. So, I don’t know, I think that these moments tend to bring people together,” Aikman said.
The NFL's cancellation of the Bills-Bengals game is an extremely rare move for the league. Yes, the NFL has canceled games in the past. Labor strikes led the NFL to play only nine games in 1982, writes Joe Horrigan in "NFL Century: The One-Hundred-Year Rise of America's Greatest Sports League."
Another strike five years later resulted in the third week of the season being canceled, he writes. Replacement players joined players who crossed picket lines for games in weeks four, five and six. Players returned in time for week seven of the 1987 season.
But the NFL has never had a game start, then be postponed and never resumed, according to CBS Sports research. And you have to go back nearly a century – to 1935 – to find a time when some teams ended up playing more games than others, and that was because of weather-related cancellations.
Here's what to know about the history of canceled games in the NFL.
A lot, and it was good news. His doctors said he has "made a very remarkable recovery and improvement." The doctors also said he woke up and asked in writing who won the Bills game Monday night. Here's everything that happened Thursday with Hamlin.
Whether they knew Hamlin personally or not, NFL players across the league must grapple with trauma while preparing to play Week 18.
"I think for this whole week – and probably for many weeks to come – it’s going to be in the back of everyone’s minds, especially the guys that are playing, but I don’t think this alters the way you play," Baltimore Ravens tight end Mark Andrews said Wednesday. "I think you go out there, be yourself and everything else will take care of itself."
Ravens cornerback Marlon Humphrey ignores his phone during team meetings but admitted he immediately acknowledged the ESPN notifications that came across his phone. Head coach John Harbaugh opened Tuesday's team meeting with a discussion about how much courage it takes to play in the NFL.
"It kind of helped ease a lot of our minds," Humphrey said. "Even though a lot of us didn’t know Damar, but he’s a brother in this league."
Veteran defensive tackle Calais Campbell said he has spoken to other guys around the league to "just make sure everybody is good."
"This is one of those things that you know can happen, but you never really expect it to happen," Campbell said. "Something so severe like that, where a man is fighting for his life."
Read more reaction from around the league here.
What doctors said about Damar Hamlin's health and recovery
Bills coach, QB share thoughts on Damar Hamlin
Tee Higgins pleased to hear about Damar Hamlin's progress
For the first time since Monday night, the Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver addressed the media about his mental state following the tackle with Hamlin.
After Higgins caught a pass from Joe Burrow, Hamlin tackled him to the ground. It was a normal football play, but as Hamlin stood up, he immediately collapsed on the field.
Want to honor Damar Hamlin? Learn CPR.
Bill Belichick reminded of injury from 1997
On Thursday, New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick began his media availability by discussing Damar Hamlin and the ensuing fallout for NFL players and coaches. One of the more notable tidbits was Belichick seeing what happened with Hamlin on Monday and recounting another scary injury situation from his coaching past.
What happened to Damar Hamlin?
Damar Hamlin tackled Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins after a 13-yard gain during the Bills-Bengals Monday Night Football showdown. The play appeared to be routine. Hamlin stood up afterwards, but collapsed to the ground with 5:58 remaining in the first quarter.
An ambulance was brought onto the field. Hamlin was treated with CPR and an AED to restore his heartbeat on the field as players from both teams created a human shield around Hamlin as emergency responders worked to resuscitate him. Hamlin was then placed on a stretcher before being transported to the hospital.
The game was temporarily suspended then — one hour and five minutes after Hamlin collapsed — postponed.
It was later revealed that Hamlin suffered cardiac arrest. But what is cardiac arrest, and how might it have happened to Hamlin?
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