January 9, 2023 Damar Hamlin released from the hospital

By Mike Hayes, Elise Hammond, Leinz Vales and Maureen Chowdhury, CNN

Updated 8:05 p.m. ET, January 9, 2023
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5:48 p.m. ET, January 9, 2023

Buffalo Bills head coach says the team has grown since Hamlin's injury

From CNN's Wayne Sterling

Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott said the team has grown since Damar Hamlin's on-field cardiac arrest last week.

"You learn through things when you go through experiences like this," McDermott told reporters on Monday. "We will all have grown as people, and as men in this case, the guys that were out there on the field, by going through and experience like this ... I think more than anything it was, I don't know, just a little bit of a sense of accomplishment that we work through this together and now a chance to reset."

McDermott met with Hamlin Monday along with general manager Brandon Beane, head athletic trainer Nate Breske and assistant athletic trainer Tabani Richards. During their meeting, McDermott said that there is a plan in place for the players and staff to visit Hamlin "at the proper time."  

McDermott said just "having (Hamlin) nearby will give us more comfort" and inspire the team as it prepares for the postseason

Hamlin was released from the University of Cincinnati Medical Center and was transferred to Buffalo General Hospital Monday.

"Knowing that he's well taken care of. He's got a real medical team around him here in Buffalo and just had a chance to meet with some of those, some of their staff and very comfortable with the team that's around him," McDermott said. "I just think overall just continues to put our minds at ease that he's that he's in good hands and that he's moving in the right direction."

5:34 p.m. ET, January 9, 2023

Buffalo Bills pledge support for cardiac emergency response plans in the community

From CNN's Kevin Dotson

The Buffalo Bills organization pledged its support for developing cardiac emergency response plans in the Buffalo community, including CPR certifications and automated external defibrillator (AED) units, the team said in a a statement Monday.

“We encourage all our fans to continue showing your support and take the next step by obtaining CPR certification. The Buffalo Bills and our partners are dedicated to providing support for those resources; CPR certifications, AED units, and developing cardiac emergency response plans within our community," the statement read.

The team said the response to Damar Hamlin's collapse on the field was part of an emergency action plan that "involves team, independent medical and athletic training staff, equipment and security personnel, and is reviewed prior to every game," the statement read.

"Each member of the EAP team performed their job as they are trained to do," the statement read.

Read the full statement below:

4:59 p.m. ET, January 9, 2023

Hamlin is recovering faster than expected, doctors say

From CNN’s Brenda Goodman

Members of Damar Hamlin’s health care team said he is recovering even faster than they’d hoped.

Hamlin had his breathing tube removed early Friday morning, and by Friday afternoon, he was walking with assistance around the medical unit where he was being treated, his doctors said at a news conference Monday.

Dr. Timothy Pritts, a surgeon who has treating Hamlin at UC Health, said he is “continuing to regain strength. He’s certainly on what we consider a very normal to even accelerated trajectory from the life-threatening event that he underwent, but he's making great progress.”

Pritts said normal recovery from a cardiac arrest could be measured in terms of weeks to months, but Hamlin “has been a little bit ahead of that at each stage.”

As they stated Thursday, Hamlin is completely neurologically intact, the doctors said.

“He walks normally. He is admittedly a little weak. I don't think that's of any real surprise after what he went through, just regaining his strength, and that's part of his recovery process,” said Dr. William Knight, a neurovascular critical care expert who has been treating Hamlin at UC Health.

The doctors said that in order for Hamlin to be transferred to Buffalo, they needed to be able to upgrade his condition from critical to either fair or good. His condition was upgraded this morning.

“We felt that it was safe and proper to help get him back to the greater Buffalo area,” Pritts said. 

The doctors said they were able to upgrade his condition because his organ systems were stable and he no longer needed intensive nursing or respiratory therapy.

4:28 p.m. ET, January 9, 2023

Buffalo Bills head coach says he saw Damar Hamlin and he is happy to be back in Buffalo

From CNN's David Close

Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott speaks during a virtual press conference on January 9.
Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott speaks during a virtual press conference on January 9. (Buffalo Bills)

Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott said it just feels right knowing injured Bills safety Damar Hamlin is now nearby in Buffalo.

"Super excited that he's back in Buffalo and what a job that the team of docs and the medical team did out in Cincinnati and now he's in great care here in Buffalo. We're happy to have him back," McDermott told reporters on Monday.

McDermott said he saw Hamlin on Monday and updated how Hamlin was feeling — "He's doing well and a little bit tired but it was good to get to see him in person for the first time in a while."

McDermott said, "He is just tired but seems happy. Happy to be back in Buffalo and around a familiar area to him. I know he's taking it just one step at a time."

3:34 p.m. ET, January 9, 2023

"Bigger than football": Damar Hamlin tweets appreciation after heading back to Buffalo

Damar Hamlin is back in Buffalo, New York, at a local hospital after being released from the University of Cincinnati Medical Center Monday.

He tweeted his love for those who rallied around him over the course of his injury, saying, "The same love you all have shown me is the same love that I plan to put back into the world n more."

Read the tweet:

3:42 p.m. ET, January 9, 2023

Hamlin set off "every alarm" in the ICU after the Bills opening touchdown, doctor says

Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin set off "every alarm" in the ICU after his teammates scored a touchdown during the opening kickoff Sunday against the New England Patriots, Dr. Timothy Pritts, chief of surgery at the University of Cincinnati hospital, said.

"When the opening kickoff was runback, he jumped up and down and got out of his chair and set — I think — every alarm off in the ICU in the process, but he was fine, it was just an appropriate reaction to a very exciting play. He very much enjoyed it," Pritts said during a news conference Monday.

Pritts added that Hamlin was "beyond excited" on Sunday and felt "very supported by the outpouring of love from across the league, especially from the Buffalo area. We've learned this week that the Bills mafia is a very real thing."

3:47 p.m. ET, January 9, 2023

It's still too "premature" to say when Hamlin could get back to normal life, doctor says

Damar Hamlin is seen during an NFL game in 2021 in New York.
Damar Hamlin is seen during an NFL game in 2021 in New York. (Joshua Bessex/AP/File)

Dr. Timothy Pritts, chief of surgery at the University of Cincinnati hospital, said it is "too premature” to say when Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin could get back to normal life after suffering a cardiac arrest and collapsing during a game.

“He's making great progress, his brain and his neurological function is really normal so right now it's just a young man recovering from a very serious illness," Pritts said during a news conference Monday.

Hamlin is now at a local hospital in Buffalo, New York, according to Pritts.

"Our goal for every patient is that they get home," Pritts said.

"From our standpoint, the best way to do that is to arrange the next steps in his recovery at a local hospital,” where he will continue to see experts, Pritts added.

After that, Pritts said Hamlin will then be able to “make a transition back to home.”

“We think that he will recover well from this," he added, pointing to the NFL star's "positive attitude."

3:19 p.m. ET, January 9, 2023

Doctor says it's too early to determine what caused Hamlin's injury

Dr. Timothy Pritts, chief of surgery at the University of Cincinnati hospital, said it is "still fairly premature" to comment on what caused Damar Hamlin's injury a week ago during Monday Night Football.

Pritts said Hamlin will bundergo a "series of tests and evaluations" to determine what caused the incident.

On when doctors will know more, Pritts said that a "further timeline" will be determined by the hospital where Hamlin is now at in Buffalo.

3:17 p.m. ET, January 9, 2023

Damar Hamlin released from the hospital, doctors say

University of Cincinnati Health Physicians provide an update on Damar Hamlin on January 9.
University of Cincinnati Health Physicians provide an update on Damar Hamlin on January 9. (UC Health)

Damar Hamlin has been released from the hospital and is back in Buffalo, New York, according to his doctors at the UC Health.

Dr. William Knight IV said he traveled with him to the airport Monday morning.

Knight said Hamlin will be observed and monitored make sure the flight did change his condition or lung function. The doctor said he talked to Hamlin's care team in Buffalo “and I can confirm that he is doing well and this is the beginning of the next stage of his recovery.”

During his stay in the hospital, Knight said Hamlin met “a number of key milestones” in his recovery, saying that the NFL star was up and walking, doing physical and occupational therapy.