The family of Damar Hamlin have thanked the ‘dedicated first responders’ who resuscitated the Buffalo Bills player after he collapsed and suffered a cardiac arrest on the field.

His mother Nina was at the game against the Cincinnati Bengals when the 24-year-old collapsed and was administered CPR while surrounded by his teammates – some of whom were in tears.

Hamlin was rushed to the hospital with his mother by his side, as a representative said that he is ‘fighting’ but remains sedated and in critical condition.

In a statement his family said: ‘On behalf of our family, we want to express our sincere gratitude for the love and support shown to Damar during this challenging time.

‘We are deeply moved by the prayers, kind words and donations from fans around the country.

‘We also want to acknowledge the dedicated first responders and healthcare professionals at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center who have provided exceptional care to Damar.

‘We feel so blessed to be part of the Buffalo Bills organization and to have their support. We also want to thank Coach Taylor and the Bengals for everything they’ve done.

‘Your generosity and compassion mean the world to us. Please keep Damar in your prayers.’

A Buffalo Bills spokesman added: ‘Damar Hamlin spent last night in the intensive care unit and remains there today in critical condition at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center.

‘We are grateful and thankful for the outpouring of support we have received thus far.’

Speaking to DailyMail.com, Hamlin’s representative Jordon Rooney said: ‘We have no concrete updates right now, last night they administered CPR on the field and got his vitals to a stable position.

‘I’m not sure on the exact medical term, but he is sedated. He is intubated; I’m not sure if that is the same as an induced coma.

‘From that point there hasn’t been a major update, they are really just monitoring him and seeing how he is and how it is best for him to recover.

‘It was a surprise to us, we didn’t expect that to happen. He is healthy and fit.’

He added that Hamlin and his family are ‘symbols of strength.’

‘It wasn’t him falling, that was alarming, but it was everyone’s reactions. Seeing how everyone was reacting that was the part that was the scariest because what are they seeing that we can’t see?’

About 100 Bills fans and a few Bengals fans gathered on a corner one block from the hospital’s emergency room entrance, some of them holding candles.

The Buffalo Bills safety, who has set up charity toy drives to raise money for his local community, had tackled Bengals receiver Tee Higgins in the first quarter of the pivotal Monday night game and got up briefly before falling backwards to the ground and laying motionless.

Higgins led the outpouring of well wishes for the young player, tweeting that he ‘prays Hamlin will pull through’ as the player remains in critical condition at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center.

The NFL announced today that they have not yet made a decision about the possible resumption of the game, adding that there have been no changes to the regular season schedule.

Thousands of fans have also donated to a toy drive that both Hamlin and Rooney had been working on for a charity – with nearly $3.5million now raised.

Rooney added: ‘We really appreciate the support from people.

‘Damar is a very mission-driven guy, and this has given him the opportunity once he is fully healthy again to have an even bigger impact.’

Higgins – the player tackled during the on-field incident – led the well wishes sent to Hamlin on Twitter, writing: ‘My prayers and thoughts go out to @HamlinIslandthe Hamlin Family. I’m praying that you pull through bro. Love.’

On the play the 6-foot, 200-pound Hamlin was injured, Higgins led with his right shoulder, which hit the defensive back in the chest. Hamlin, who earns a base salary of $825,000, then wrapped his arms around Higgins’ shoulders and helmet to drag him down.

Hamlin quickly got to his feet, appeared to adjust his face mask with his right hand, and then fell backward about three seconds later and lay motionless.

Hamlin was surrounded by players from both sides and treated for 16 minutes before being immobilized and taken off the field. While medical personnel were gathered around Hamlin, his playing uniform was cut off.

Players on both teams were visibly stunned by what had happened and many were in tears on the field.

Many players embraced, including quarterbacks Buffalo’s Josh Allen and Cincinnati’s Joe Burrow. The game was postponed by the NFL.

‘Please pray for our brother,’ Allen tweeted.

Rooney previously said that Hamlins vitals had ‘returned to normal’ before telling GMA: ‘He’s a fighter. I needed to provide some clarity – he was awake at that time – now he is sedated. The family is in good spirits, we’re just taking it minute by minute, hour by hour.

‘His family is strong, supportive. Obviously they are worried. Damar is very close with his family.

‘There’s definitely been a lot of fans [at the hospital], a lot of traction, people coming by. But what’s most important is to give the family their privacy.

‘A lot of times you don’t view [athletes] as human, you know you watch them on tv. It’s important to remember this is a person.’

Bills players were visibly praying for their teammate after he was driven away. According to ESPN, Hamlin’s family, including his mom Nina, were watching the game and came down to be with him as he left in the ambulance.

Hamlin is incredibly close to his family – and footage from November 20 shows the player greeting his family and hugging his mom before Buffalo’s win over Cleveland.

Hamlin’s agent Ira Turner told NFL Network: ‘Please continue to pray for Damar and his family. We currently have no update at this time. Will ask that you keep the family in your prayers.’

‘I’ve never seen anything like it since I was playing,’ NFL executive Troy Vincent, a six-time Pro Bowl cornerback during his career, said in the conference call early Tuesday morning. ‘Immediately, my player hat went on, like, how do you resume playing after seeing a traumatic event in front of you?’

Hamlin’s uniform was cut off as he was attended to by medical personnel. ESPN reported on its telecast that Hamlin was also given oxygen.

During the game, the ESPN Monday Night Football broadcast cut to commercial four times as Hamlin was receiving treatment. After the ambulance had left the field, reports initially suggested the game was going to restart following a five-minute warm-up, prompting an outpouring of anger on social media.

Vincent said the league took no steps toward restarting the game and did not ask players to begin a five-minute warmup period as ESPN’s broadcasters had announced.

‘It never crossed our mind to talk about warming up to resume play,’ Vincent said. ‘That’s ridiculous. That’s insensitive. That’s not a place we should ever be in.’

A statement released by the league read: ‘Hamlin received immediate medical attention on the field by team and independent medical staff and local paramedics. He was then transported to a local hospital where he is in critical condition.

‘Our thoughts are with Damar and the Buffalo Bills. We will provide more information as it becomes available. The NFL has been in constant communication with the NFL Players Association which is in agreement with postponing the game.’

The harrowing incident on Monday night occurred just hours after the death of former Jacksonville Jaguars guard Uche Nwaneri from acute heart failure at the age of 38.

Nwaneri collapsed at his wife’s home in West Lafayette, Indianapolis, and could not be saved. She reportedly found him unresponsive in a bedroom and called 911. According to the Lafayette Journal and Courier, an autopsy showed no indication of foul play.

Meanwhile, emotions ran high for ESPN’s broadcast crew, as analyst Booger McFarland offered an important bit of perspective.

‘When you bring CPR out, you’re trying to help someone breathe. We’re talking life or death now,’ he said.

‘That’s real. What we do is just a game. When you involve life and death, it’s totally different.’

‘No one’s been through this,’ longtime NFL quarterback Troy Aikman added. ‘I’ve never seen anything like it, either.’

ESPN Senior NFL Insider Adam Schefter weighed in as well, saying: ‘It is all about this young man and how he’s doing.

‘Everybody is thinking and praying for him, every team, every player, every individual, everybody who’s watching Monday night football, everybody who tuned in to see this highly anticipated game, nobody cares about that right now.’

Footage emerged later of Hamlin’s ambulance arriving at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center.

The aftermath of the injury was reminiscent of when Bills tight end Kevin Everett lay motionless on the field after making a tackle on the second-half opening kickoff in Buffalo’s 2007 season-opening game against the Denver Broncos.

Everett sustained a spinal cord injury that initially left him partially paralyzed.

Hamlin spent five years of college at Pittsburgh – his hometown – and appeared in 48 games for the Panthers over that span. He was a second-team All-ACC performer as a senior, was voted a team captain and was picked to play in the Senior Bowl.

He was drafted in the sixth round by the Bills in 2021, played in 14 games as a rookie and then became a starter this year once Micah Hyde was lost for the season to injury.

By late Monday night, a community toy drive organized by Hamlin had surged to more than $3 million in donations. His stated goal was $2,500.

A video emerged Monday night of Hamlin participating in the toy drive for children during his time at Pitt, in which the budding player spoke up about his reasons for giving back.

‘Just seeing role models in person. I feel like that’s big in kids’ lives and that’s something that we haven’t always had in Pittsburgh,’ he said.

‘Just being younger and seeing the difference from some people that had that role models in their life.

‘It could be you all you have to do is just work hard, stay focused. I’m thankful that I can even be in this position to give back.’

Hamlin also created ‘The Chasing M’s Foundation’ to ‘positively impact the community that raised me,’ with the charity’s first program a toy drive for the holidays in December 2020.

He explained his motivation for giving back on the toy drive’s GoFundMe page, with his third annual toy drive being held last week.

‘As I embark on my journey to the NFL, I will never forget where I come from and I am committed to using my platform to positively impact the community that raised me,’ he said.

This campaign gives you the opportunity to contribute to our first initiative and positively impact children who have been hardest hit by the pandemic.

‘Thank you so much for supporting me on and off the field. I am grateful to have the opportunity to work with you to help make the holiday season a little brighter for the kids in our community.’

Initially set for a goal of $2,500, the page was flooded with donations on Monday after news of his serious injury, with the page having $2.6million in donations at the time of writing.

That’s nearly double Hamlin’s base salary of $825,000 for this season.

Kathryn Bersani and her mother, Gayle, were among the Bills fans who traveled from Buffalo for the game and went to the hospital from the stadium.

‘This is our family Christmas,’ Kathryn Bersani said. ‘We thought it would be a great game. Joe (Burrow) and Josh (Allen) are such great men. Sad, sad time. Such a shock. I just hope he can live a normal life. It stunned us.’

Chuck and Janet Kohl went to the hospital after watching the game at home.

‘This is much more important than football,’ Chuck Kohl said. ‘Had to come and pray for Mr. Hamlin.’

Entering the game, Hamlin had 91 tackles, including 63 solo tackles, and 1 1/2 sacks.

A tweet from the Pitt football account was simple and clear: ‘Damar Hamlin is the best of us. We love you, 3,’ the tweet said, referring to Hamlin by his college jersey number. ‘Praying for you.’