Damar Hamlin opens eyes, is responsive: NFL insider

CINCINNATI (WXIX) - Damar Hamlin opened his eyes Wednesday and has been “gripping the hand of those close to him,” according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.

Rapoport added that Hamlin is responsive.

Thursday’s tweet from the NFL insider is the latest update indicating improvements in the 24-year-old’s condition.

Hamlin has made a “remarkable improvement” in the past 24 hours, the Buffalo Bills announced Thursday.

While he remains “critically ill” at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center, the team says it appears Hamlin is neurologically intact.

“His lungs continue to heal and he is making steady progress,” the Bills added.

Hamlin’s teammate and fellow defensive back Kaiir Elam said the 24-year-old safety is awake.

Hamlin’s father told the Bills on a Zoom call Wednesday that his son is making progress - good news that the team needed, ESPN reports.

Damar Hamlin’s father, Mario Hamlin, addressed the entire Bills team to personally update everyone in attendance, ESPN’s senior NFL insider, Adam Schefter, said in a tweet Thursday morning.

Mario Hamlin told the Bills that Damar “was making progress and, in the words of one source, ‘the team needed it’,” the tweet reads.

Hamlin collapsed during the first quarter of the nationally televised Monday Night Football game between the Bills and Cincinnati Bengals at Paycor Stadium.

An ambulance rushed onto the field as players from both teams gathered around Hamlin, creating a shield from the cameras.

Emergency workers performed CPR on Hamlin and used an automated external defibrillator (AED) on him, sources told FOX19′s Joe Danneman.

Hamlin was given oxygen, placed on a stretcher, hooked up to an IV and carried into an ambulance that had entered the field.

By the time he was en route to the hospital, his pulse had been restored, but he was still not breathing on his own, according to Danneman.

The NFL suspended the game that night.

The following day, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell announced in a statement the game would not resume this week.

No decision has been made on whether the game will be played at a later date.

No changes have been made to the Week 18 schedule when Cincinnati plays the Baltimore Ravens, according to his statement.

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