Damar Hamlin surprised his Buffalo Bills teammates Friday morning by addressing them during a meeting via FaceTime.
Hamlin, who suffered cardiac arrest and collapsed on the field Monday night at Paycor Stadium, has made tremendous progress in his recovery, to the point where the Bills safety was able to talk and communicate with his teammates back in Orchard Park, N.Y., as they prepare for their Week 18 game against the New England Patriots.
"Amazing. Touching," Bills head coach Sean McDermott told reporters, describing the scene Friday when Hamlin appeared on a big screen during Buffalo's team meeting.
" ... When I said that we had a treat in store, you could see the look in their eyes in anticipation of what was probably coming. ... To see the players' reaction, they stood up right away and clapped for him and yelled some things to him. It was a pretty cool exchange for a few seconds there."
Hamlin collapsed during the first quarter of Buffalo's Week 17 game against the Bengals after a collision with Cincinnati wide receiver Tee Higgins. Medical personnel needed to perform CPR and restore Hamlin's heartbeat, and the game was postponed as he was transported to a Cincinnati hospital.
Hamlin literally fought for his life and now is on the mend. It's been a miraculous development since the terrifying incident, with Hamlin already showing off his personality in Friday's meeting.
"I can't remember the order of things, and it was not a long interaction, as you would imagine with his situation. But he made hand signals, hand gestures," McDermott said. "The thing that makes me laugh is he did this (flexed) to the guys right away -- he flexed on them, I guess. He's just got some staple things that they know him for and that he does. He made the heart symbol probably more than anything. Then he gave them a thumbs up. And then somewhere in the midst of that, and it was a little bit hard to hear, he said, 'I love you boys,' and of course that got the guys."
The Bills will host the Patriots this Sunday at Highmark Stadium. Buffalo's Week 17 game against the Bengals officially has been canceled, with the NFL on Friday announcing changes for the AFC playoffs.
