Damar Hamlin: Zac Taylor reveals Sean McDermott conversation after cardiac arrest

Bengals coach Zac Taylor revealed the serious conversation he had with his Bills counterpart Sean McDermott after Damar Hamlin went into cardiac arrest on Monday night.

Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Taylor described how he decided to go to the Bills sideline and talk to his fellow coaches instead of ‘playing phone’ following the terrifying ordeal.

‘I’m not going to reveal any of the private conversations Sean and I had other than this,’ Taylor said.

Zac Taylor was complimentary of how Sean McDermott handled the Damar Hamlin situation

The Bills gather on the field as CPR is administered to Buffalo Bills safety Hamlin

‘When I got there, the first thing he said was, “I need to be in the hospital with Damar. I shouldn’t be practicing this game.”‘

Both sides agreed that the game would not be played, while the NFL has since said it will not be played this week before the final (scheduled) week of the regular season.

And while the contest should have postseason implications for both sides, Taylor saw where McDermott’s priorities lie at the moment.

‘Unprecedented is the word that gets thrown around a lot about this situation because that is what it is,’ he said.

McDermott tells Taylor he needs to[ed] who was in the hospital with Hamlin after his cardiac arrest

‘But in that moment, he really showed who he was. That all his attention was only on Damar and there for him, there for his family in the hospital. And at that point, I think everything trended in the direction it needed to trend and the right decisions were made there.’

Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow also addressed his own role in the aftermath of Hamlin’s injury, which occurred in the first quarter after he tackled Cincinnati wide receiver Tee Higgins.

Hamlin got up briefly after the play before appearing shaken and collapsing to the turf.

He was given CPR on the field and taken in an ambulance to the hospital a short time later, where the team said he was in critical condition later that night.

The Bills said Thursday that Hamlin has shown ‘remarkable improvement’ over the last 24 hours

Burrow told members of the media on Wednesday that the Bengal captains met with the Buffalo captains and made it clear that they also did not want to continue playing.

‘One, we want to show our support,’ said Burrow. ‘And two, at that point no decision had been made on the game and we wanted to go and let them know how we felt about playing,’ he said.

‘Nobody wants to continue the game in that situation,’ added Burrow. ‘I know how everybody in our locker room would feel if it was one of our guys, and I know how we feel and it was one of their guys. So it was a scary, emotional night.’

Play-by-play announcer Joe Buck said he was told by an NFL representative that the game would resume after a five-minute warmup period, which NFL Executive Vice President of Football Operations Troy Vincent denied.

With just six days between Week 18 and the start of the NFL’s wild card round on Jan. 14, it seems doubtful whether the game is over.

Joe Burrow spoke to Bills captains to offer ‘support’ during harrowing ordeal

Burrow stands by the Bills regardless of the decision.

‘I think what Buffalo wants to do is what we want to do,’ he said.

‘We are behind them 100 per cent and support them in whatever they decide to do going forward.’

The Bills said Thursday that Hamlin appears to be ‘neurologically intact’ and has shown ‘remarkable improvement’ over the last 24 hours, with teammate Kaiir Elam saying he is ‘awake and showing more signs’ of improvement.’