Damar Hamlin health update: Doctors report ‘remarkable improvement’ over last 24 hours

Hamlin suffered cardiac arrest on field during MNF game

A sign with the number of Buffalo Bills' Damar Hamlin is seen for the display set-up outside of University of Cincinnati Medical Center, Wednesday, Jan. 4, 2023, in Cincinnati. Hamlin was taken to the hospital after collapsing on the field during the Bill's NFL football game against the Cincinnati Bengals on Monday night. (AP Photo/Aaron Doster) (Aaron Doster, Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

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.

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.

More: Commotio cordis: Explaining the condition that caused Damar Hamlin to collapse on Monday Night Football


About the Author:

Ken Haddad has proudly been with WDIV/ClickOnDetroit since 2013. He also authors the Morning Report Newsletter and various other newsletters, and helps lead the WDIV Insider team. He's a big sports fan and is constantly sipping Lions Kool-Aid.