Back to work not business as usual for Hamlin’s peers

Ready or not, the Bills, Bengals and 30 other NFL teams are returning to the field this week. Players must be mentally prepared for action in a sport that requires full attention.

January 5, 2023 - 3:46 PM

New York Giants head coach Brian Daboll hears a NY 3 hat during practice on Wednesday, January 4, 2023 in East Rutherford, N.J. The hat is in support of Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin, who is hospitalized in critical condition after he went into cardiac arrest while playing Monday Night Football earlier this week.

For Damar Hamlin’s teammates, peers and everyone in the NFL community, going back to work is not business as usual.

Players returned to practice with heavy hearts on Wednesday, two days after Hamlin went into cardiac arrest and needed to be resuscitated on the field during Buffalo’s game at Cincinnati.

Hamlin, the 24-year-old Bills safety, remains hospitalized in critical condition, but his teammates are set to play the Patriots on Sunday, and all games for Week 18 remain on schedule.

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