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The Buffalo Bills have been through a whirlwind of emotion since the devastating injury to Damar Hamlin on Monday Night Football, and an insider is now suggesting that the team may need another week off while working through the situation.
The January 2 game between the Bills and Cincinnati Bengals has been suspended by the NFL after Hamlin suffered what the team said was cardiac arrest following a collision with Bengals receiver Tee Higgins. Hamlin collapsed on the field and was taken to a nearby hospital, where he had been listed in critical condition as of late Wednesday.
The league said the game would not be completed this week and has announced no plan yet for when — or if — it would be finished. Now, ESPN’s Mike Reiss said he would not be shocked if the Bills decide not to play their Week 18 game against the New England Patriots.
Bills May Not Be Ready to Play Patriots: Insider
In an appearance on the “Zolak & Bertrand” show on Tuesday, Reiss said he could see the Bills needing more time before getting back to the field following Monday’s traumatic injury. Broadcast of the game showed a number of Bills players distraught in the moments following Hamlin’s injury, with many openly crying on the field.
While Reiss stressed that he had no information from the team suggesting that they may not play the game, he believed it was still an option.
“I think it’s in question,” Reiss said. “And to me and again, I have no information. But to me, it’s in question until you get more information. We want the answer now, obviously, and I think the answer we want is that he’s going to come out of this and be okay. But if we don’t have any information along those lines, I think anything’s in play.”
When asked if he would not be shocked if the game were not played, Reiss reiterated that it could be an option.
“Would not be shocked,” Reiss replied.
Bengals Have Considered Not Playing Week 18, Joe Burrow Says
There are no signs that the Bills may not play their Week 18 game against the Patriots. The NFL released a statement on Tuesday saying the league had no plans to change the Week 18 regular season schedule, and the Bills held team meetings and a walkthrough on Wednesday.
But the Bengals have also discussed the idea of not playing their final game of the regular season, quarterback Joe Burrow revealed on Wednesday. Speaking to reporters, he said the team is going through preparations for their season finale against the Baltimore Ravens, but some players have said they do not want to play.
“I’m sure if you polled the locker room there’d be mixed votes on that,” Burrow said in regard to not playing their Week 18 game against the Ravens. “Personally, I think is going to be tough, but there’s people that want to play, too, and there’s people that don’t. Personally, I probably want to play. I think getting back to as normal as you can as fast as you can is personally how I kind of deal with these kinds of things. Like I said, everyone has a different way of dealing with it.”
When it came to their suspended game from Monday night, Burrow said he would be in favor of whatever the Bills wanted to do.
“I think whatever Buffalo would want to do would be what we would want to do as well,” he said. “We’re behind them 100% and support them in whatever they would decide to do going forward.”
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