Buffalo Bills players can’t wait to “love” Hamlin after the health update

Demar Hamlin had his breathing tube removed overnight and was able to speak with his family, doctors and teammates, the Buffalo Bills said Friday morning.

Hamlin was speaking via video chat Friday with teammates and the coaches, as they met in preparation for Sunday’s game against the New England Patriots. In a press conference with reporters, Bills coach Sean McDermott said he surprised the team with a “treat,” and the players gave Hamlin a standing ovation when they saw him on screen.

McDermott said Hamlin later made a flip-flop gesture with his hands, raised his thumb up and flexed his arm, twisting his muscles as he recounted the call.

Hamlin also spoke to the team, McDermott said, and had a simple message: “I love you guys.”

“It was a great exchange for a few seconds there,” said McDermott.

Hamlin doctors at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center said Thursday that although Hamlin has shown progress, it is still too early to say whether he will be able to fully recover.

“He continues to make significant progress in his recovery,” the team said in a tweetAdding that his neurological function was intact.

McDermott had previously recounted to reporters how Mario Hamlin, father of Bills safety Damar Hamlin, addressed the team in a video conference from Cincinnati on Wednesday. Mario Hamelin and his wife, Nina, were at their hospital bedside with their son, but told the team that Dammar wanted them to play.

Both McDermott and quarterback Josh Allen said Thursday afternoon that the message — combined with Dammar Hamlin’s condition improved As he continues to be treated after suffering a cardiac arrest in Monday’s game – this was the raise for the Bills needed to encourage them to focus on their jobs, even as they continued to pray and worry about their teammate and friend.

and Hamlin, 24, collapsed After making what appears to be a routine tackle to Bengals receiver Tee Higgins during a game broadcast on “Monday Night Football” on ESPN.

What followed was a harrowing 10 minutes as doctors attended him on the field and performed CPR, while Bills players knelt in a circle around him. On the sidelines, players cried and hugged. The announcers, shock also evident in their voices, attempted to recount the scene where Hamlin was eventually put into an ambulance and taken to hospital.

The game was suspended, after McDermott consulted with that team, officials, and Bengals head coach Zack Taylor. The league eventually announced it The game will not be completed.

“Yesterday’s news of Damre’s improvement has not only lifted my spirits, but the spirits of the entire league,” NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell told reporters on Friday. “And the news this morning that he was FaceTiming with his team is just unbelievable.”

NFL team owners on Friday approved two adjustments to the AFC Playoffs as a result of the decision not to resume the suspended game. The Bills and Bengals were both in contention for the top seed in their conference and home court advantage through the playoffs.

The Bills (12-3) and Bengals (11-4) will each play one game fewer than other teams in the NFL after the regular season ends this weekend. To account for potential competitive discrepancies, the AFC Championship Game will be played at a neutral site if the participating teams do not play the same number of games, and if both teams may be the top seeds if the Bengals-Bills match-up is completed.

Also, if the Baltimore Ravens (10-6) beat Cincinnati for the second time this season on Sunday, and if AFC opponents are scheduled to play each other in the Wild Card Round, the spot for the game will be decided by a coin flip. Throw.

“It was important for the owners to vote today so that the clubs going into this weekend know what they are playing for,” Goodell said.

Earlier this week, Allen and McDermott described the terrifying scene and their efforts to process their feelings and prepare for a football match that seemed trivial compared to what happened to Hameln.

“The scene plays out in your head over and over,” Allen said Thursday. “It’s hard to describe what I felt, how my teammates felt at the moment.”

But to find out Hamlin was writing letters and holding hands with loved ones just three days after he came close to losing his life on the court, Allen said, “There’s nothing you could tell us to get through the day after that.”

Allen said he and his bandmates were looking forward to reuniting with Hamlin so they could “love him”.

McDermott, who has Make players mental health A priority of his coaching style, he said after the Bills’ return from Cincinnati were impromptu team meetings and counselors available to players and staff.

“The health and well-being of your team and players is the coach’s number one job in this situation,” said McDermott.

Allen said he invited all his teammates over to his house this week, and those who joined him prayed, relieved their stress and talked about Hamlin.

Dean Jackson, who also played with Hamlin at the University of Pittsburgh, said the two men shared a special bond. Jackson said that before every match, he and Hamlin would usually find each other on the sidelines, hugging and saying to each other, “I love you.”

It was a tradition Jackson thought a lot about after suffering a gruesome neck injury during Week 2 of this season. He said that as he was being loaded into an ambulance, one voice stood out among all of his teammates. It was Hamlin.

“He said, ‘I love you de Jacques,’” Jackson said. “He is looking forward to being reunited with his friend, so he can pass on the same message.”

Jenny Frentas Contribute to the preparation of reports.