Bills safety Damar Hamlin, who suffered cardiac arrest on the field three weeks ago, faces a long rehab, according to his marketing representative. John Amis/Associated Press
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Remarkable as Damar Hamlin’s recovery has been, the Buffalo Bills safety still faces a lengthy rehabilitation some three weeks after going into cardiac arrest and needing to be resuscitated on the field during a game in Cincinnati, his marketing representative told The Associated Press on Thursday night.
“Damar still requires oxygen and is having his heart monitored regularly to ensure there are no setbacks or after effects,” Jordon Rooney said. “Though he is able to visit the team’s facility, Damar is not in position to travel often, and requires additional rest to help his body heal.”
Rooney provided the update to emphasize Hamlin still faces hurdles since being discharged from Buffalo General Medical Center on Jan. 11. Hamlin’s release came five days after his doctors said the player was breathing on his own, walking, talking and showing no signs of neurological damage.
Rooney’s update also gave perspective to comments made by Bills coach Sean McDermott, who on Wednesday said Hamlin has begun making regular visits to the team’s facility. McDermott, however, stressed the 24-year-old was taking “a baby step at a time,” while adding, Hamlin is “dipping his toe back in here and getting on the road to just getting back to himself.”
Hamlin has not yet made a public appearance except for a photograph linebacker Matt Milano posted on his Instagram account of his teammate at the Bills facility on Saturday. And he’s not yet spoken publicly except for posting messages on his social media accounts.
Rooney said Hamlin is being watched over by his parents and “remains very upbeat and grateful for the support he’s received from his teammates and coaches, Bills Mafia and people from around the world.” That outpouring of support has led to Hamlin’s charitable foundation, Chasing M’s, raising nearly $9 million in donations.
Without saying from where, he added, Hamlin will be cheering for the Bills on Sunday, when Buffalo hosts Cincinnati in an AFC divisional playoff.
TITANS: Ran Carthon looked up, pausing before answering a question his aunt warned would come.
He is the first Black general manager in the history of the Tennessee Titans, a franchise founded in 1960 as the then-Houston Oilers in the original American Football League.
“I understand I’m standing on the shoulders of giants, and there have been plenty of men that have come before me that have laid this foundation that allowed me to be in this spot,” Carthon said Friday at his introductory news conference.
Carthon, who turns 42 in February, has been too busy putting himself in this position and hadn’t had time to contemplate the history of the moment. Not after a whirlwind week of interviews, a wild-card playoff victory with the San Francisco 49ers and accepting his new job.
Becoming an NFL GM had been Carthon’s only goal after he went from undrafted rookie running back out of Florida to a brief playing career before front-office jobs in Atlanta and with the Rams and the 49ers.
“It’s paramount in my mind to do the work and be successful to leave the door open for other Black men that are coming behind me because there are a lot of talented young Black men who can do the job,” Carthon said. “They just need the opportunity.”
The Titans made Carthon the sixth person of color among the past eight GMs hired, and he now is the NFL’s eighth Black general manager and ninth person of color overall.
PANTHERS: Carolina has postponed interviews with head coaching candidates Sean Payton and Kellen Moore after the death of Charlotte FC soccer player Anton Walkes, according to a person familiar with the situation.
Panthers owner David Tepper and other members of the search committee returned to Charlotte on Thursday from New York, where they had planned interview Payton, to support the grieving Charlotte FC players. Walkes was killed Wednesday in a boat crash in Miami. Tepper was on hand for a vigil outside of Charlotte’s Bank of America Stadium on Thursday.
The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Friday because the team does not disclose details of its coaching search.
Tepper owns Charlotte FC, an MLS team that recently completed its first season.
The Panthers have interviewed or scheduled interviews with nearly a dozen candidates. Tepper is weighing whether to keep interim coach Steve Wilks or hire a coach from outside the organization.
The Panthers went 7-10 this season, including 6-6 under Wilks, who replaced the fired Matt Rhule.
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