BREAKING: NFL Never Considered 'Ridiculous' 5-Minute Warmup in Bills vs. Bengals
The Buffalo Bills and Cincinnati Bengals saw their game on Monday night come to a crashing halt following an injury to Bills safety Damar Hamlin.
Hamlin, who took a hit to the chest when tackling Bengals receiver Tee Higgins before standing up and almost immediately collapsing, is currently listed in critical condition as the contest has been postponed.
But after Hamlin was taken off in an ambulance and before the game was suspended and ultimately postponed, ESPN reported that there was a five-minute warmup issued to each side ahead of a return to play. Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow began playing catch and Bills receiver Stefon Diggs rallied his troops on the sideline.
However, according to NFL executive Troy Vincent, the five-minute warmup was never discussed.
Said Vincent on a conference call: "It never crossed our mind to talk about warming up to resume play. I'm not sure where that came from. That’s ridiculous. That’s insensitive."
Per Vincent, the NFL was listening to the conversation between the head referee and two coaches, the Bills' Sean McDermott and Bengals' Zac Taylor - and he once more stressed that there was never a thought to return to play amidst the unprecedented circumstance.
"It was fluid and things were changing by the minute," Vincent said. "Emotions were extremely high. It was a very volatile situation."
The Bills are set to fly back to Buffalo, though Diggs and several other players will be staying in Cincinnati to support Hamlin. It's a hectic, constantly evolving situation - but one thing is for sure: there was never a chance for the Bills and Bengals to play after Hamlin went down.
You can follow Daniel Flick on Twitter at @DFlickDraft
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