Bills safety Damar Hamlin discharged from hospital

January 11th update: Great news! Damar Hamlin has been fully discharged from the hospital.

Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin went into cardiac arrest on Monday evening during the team’s Monday Night Football game against the Cincinnati Bengals. He received CPR on the field and he was taken by ambulance to University of Cincinnati Medical Center, which is a level 1 trauma center.

Hamlin’s heartbeat was restarted, but he was placed on oxygen and is being examined at the hospital and is in critical condition. The Bills released a statement at 1:48 a.m. ET Tuesday morning confirming some of the base details.

“Damar Hamlin suffered a cardiac arrest following a hit in the Buffalo Bills’ game versus the Cincinnati Bengals. His heartbeat was restored on the field and he was transferred to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center for further testing and treatment. He is currently sedated and listed in critical condition.”

The cardiac arrest began after Hamlin tackled Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins. After the tackle, Hamlin quickly got up to his feet but fell backwards and collapsed to the ground. CPR was administered and he was eventually placed on a stretcher and taken away by ambulance. Players were visibly distraught throughout.

Once Hamlin was taken off the field, Joe Buck initially said that league officials informed the broadcast the teams would have five minutes to warm up get ready to return to playing. The league has refuted this, although Buck said it multiple times.

Bengals head coach Zac Taylor and Bills head coach Sean McDermott eventually took their players off the field and back to their respective locker rooms. An hour later, the league formally postponed the game. The Bills have since returned to Buffalo with some team officials remaining in Cincinnati with Hamlin. No makeup date has been scheduled as of Tuesday morning.

We’ll continue updating this with more news about Hamlin as it comes in.

11:44 a.m. update — Damar Hamlin’s family released a statement on Tuesday. It expressed gratitude for the love and support shown to him. It acknowledged the first responders and healthcare professionals who have provided care to him. They will provide updates “as soon as we have them.”

1:23 p.m. update — The Bills released a statement announcing that Hamlin is in the intensive care unit at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center and has been in there since last night. He remains in critical condition.

6:46 p.m. update — Damar Hamlin’s uncle told the media his son was originally on 100% oxygen while on a ventilator, but is now down to 50%, per Josh Reed. He is dealing with some lung damage, per Matt Parrino. This all appears to be a sign of progress, but we’ll continue waiting for additional official updates.

Wednesday, Jan 4, 9:33 a.m. update — Some positive, but still guarded news on Hamlin’s progress over night. Hopefully we’ll keep getting positive news moving forward.

Harvey went on to clarify on behalf of the family that “there may have been some miscommunications in terms of the number of times Damar Hamlin was resuscitated. There was only one instance at Paycor Stadium.”

1:30 p.m. update — The Bills released a statement on Wednesday providing an update similar to what Jordon Rooney told Coley Harvey earlier in the morning. He remains in the ICU in critical condition, but there have been signs of improvement.

Thursday, Jan 5, 7:47 a.m. update — Damar Hamlin’s father addressed the Bills team to provide an update on his son. He informed them Damar was making progress.

Thursday, Jan 5, 9:30 a.m. update — Positive news continues to come in, as the team tweeted out that Hamlin is “neurologically intact” and that he is making steady progress. Bills cornerback Kaiir Elam tweets, “Our boy is doing better, awake and showing more signs of improvement. Thank you God. Keep the prayers coming please. All love 3!”

1:30 p.m. update — Doctors at the UC Medical Center addressed the media on Thursday. In their introduction, they said he has made substantial progress. He is still in the surgical intensive care and in critical condition, but his neurological condition and function is intact. He is not speaking yet because he has a breathing tube in, but was able to communicate Wednesday night and Thursday morning via writing.

The doctors said “he still has significant progress he has to make but this marks a significant turning point in his ongoing care.” The next step in his recovery would increasing the amount he is breathing on his own with only limited assistance from the ventilator, and eventually breathing entirely on his own.

The doctors said he remains very sick, but has made a remarkable recovery related to his vital signs and individual organ recovery. They could not yet speak to the underlying cause but tests are ongoing to determine what happened to cause the cardiac arrest.

Friday, January 6 10:05 a.m. ET update —

Hamlin has had his breathing tube removed. He has been able to FaceTime teammates and is addressing the team as a whole this morning, per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.

Monday, January 9 3:05 p.m. ET update — Hamlin has been discharged from the Cleveland hospital and is headed back home to Buffalo, where he will check into the Gates Vascular Institute, per Adam Schefter.