NFL Week 18 schedule in jeopardy? Players reluctant to return in wake of Damar Hamlin’s collapse with Bills safety still in critical condition
Damar Hamlin's terrifying injury has given the NFL a very tough decision. They had no choice but to postpone what is one of the most important games of the season after the safety collapsed and suffered a cardiac arrest.
Whatever they decide, it may not be a popular decision as it affects a lot of different entities.
Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow admitted he didn't think all of his teammates would be ready to play next week after what they witnessed. He told the AP:
“I’m sure if you polled the locker room there would be mixed votes on that. 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 Bengals face the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday. That is, if the NFL remains on schedule.
1.5 games separate the two, so it could be a division-deciding game. It also depends on the result of the Bills-Bengals match, though, as a Cincinnati win in Week 17 wraps up the AFC North.
That is also only contingent on the games being played. Right now, the NFL is in a rather unprecedented situation, and there's no clear answer on how to proceed appropriately.
Damar Hamlin update: Bills safety reportedly awake and neurologically intact
Buffalo Bills cornerback Kaiir Elam confirmed on Twitter that his friend and teammate Damar Hamlin was awake and showing signs of progress.
Shortly after that, the Bills released an official statement echoing that sentiment. After two days of little to no information about the safety, it finally appears that Hamlin is improving.
He remains critically ill and the doctors still have their work cut out for them. This is, however, a tremendous first step to recovery and likely means Bills Mafia can at least breathe a small sigh of relief.