Damar Hamlin's cardiac arrest is an important reminder for sports organisations and leagues to "reinvigorate their protocols" in order to react as quickly as possible for "life-saving opportunities".
The 24-year-old Buffalo Bills safety collapsed on the field during Monday's NFL clash against the Cincinnati Bengals, with the incident occurring during the first quarter at the Paycor Stadium.
Hamlin remained down for over 10 minutes as CPR was administered on the field, before he was loaded into a waiting ambulance and transferred to the University of Cincinnati medical facility. He has been described as being in a critical condition.
Speaking to Stats Perform, Dr Benjamin Abella MD, Professor of Emergency Medicine and Director at the Center for Resuscitation Science, said the NFL and organisers for the 2026 men's football World Cup, of which the USA is a co-host. will be constantly working on ways to improve reactions to medical emergencies on the field.
"There are important lessons for professional sports in all of this. We can also mention Grant Wahl, the journalist who died in Qatar recently. Now his situation may have been more complicated," he added.
"But in all of these cases, the presence of CPR-trained individuals, and importantly, the rapid availability of automated external defibrillators is crucial.
"With the World Cup coming to the US in some time, they will have to think very carefully about emergency action plans and the availability of AEDs. I think the NFL continues to address this and think about this, and rightfully so.
"It's quite a challenge when you have a massive venue if a cardiac arrest occurs in the stands, if it occurs on the field, how do you rapidly get a defibrillator and rescue team to the victim? It's not a simple problem.
"But it's something that sports leagues and sports venues need to constantly train for and reinvigorate their protocols for because life-saving opportunities are there. It's all a matter of the logistics and the timing of it."
Dr Abella explained the general public can also be educated on how to swiftly provide assistance when cardiac arrest occurs.
"Cardiac arrest is one of the most time-sensitive diseases in all of medicine, it turns out that the chance of surviving cardiac arrest falls by 10 to 15 per cent for every minute without CPR.
"So, it's a very dramatic and unfortunate condition that requires immediate action. This is especially important for the public to be aware of because everyone can do something, if they see someone collapse in cardiac arrest, they can provide CPR.
"The other key action is the use of an automated external defibrillator AED, which is now present in so many places, gyms, airports, train stations, restaurants.
"Through CPR and the use of AED, survival from cardiac arrest is not guaranteed, but the chance of survival is much improved."
Dr Abella detailed the key steps that will be taken in Hamlin's treatment.
"After initial recovery from cardiac arrest, where his heart is now beating, and he's moving blood, it's still a very tenuous, dangerous time for him," he said.
"In the days following cardiac arrest, there's a race to save the brain and improve organ function. A number of things are done in the hospital, generally in the ICU, and there are really three main things that will be taking place over the next few days.
"One is the use of a treatment modality known as targeted temperature management or TTM, which is an approach of carefully and precisely maintaining certain body temperatures for therapeutic gain. Generally, patients are cooled, and their body temperature is lowered modestly, which has actually been shown to improve brain recovery after cardiac arrest.
"Another key thing that almost certainly is being done is very, very careful management of blood pressure. If the blood pressure falls in a patient after cardiac arrest, and it tends to do so, this can be dangerous, because we need to maintain blood flow to the brain.
"So critical care physicians will be working carefully to monitor and manage his blood pressure with medicines and other things.
"The third important thing is going to be neurologic assessment. This is, I think, the part that's going to be hardest for all of us to watch because it generally takes two, three, four or five days, it takes a while. And we do this through recording of brainwaves, and also through imaging of the brain."
Cardinals release three-time All-Pro WR Hopkins
The Arizona Cardinals have released wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins after failing to find a trade partner.
The team announced the move Friday on Twitter.
Hopkins spent three seasons with the Cardinals after being acquired via trade from the Houston Texans in March 2020.
The 30-year-old had a stellar debut season with Arizona, being voted to his fifth Pro Bowl after tying his personal best with 115 catches totalling 1,407 yards.
In 2021 and 2022, Hopkins had a combined 106 catches as a torn knee ligament and a six-game suspension for performance-enhancing substances limited his playing time.
Earlier this offseason, the Cardinals brought in a new leadership team in general manager Monti Ossenfort and defensive-minded head coach Jonathan Gannon, leading to trade rumours circling Hopkins.
Arizona were unable to find a trade partner to take on Hopkins' $22.6million salary cap hit during the draft last month, leaving the rebuilding Cardinals no other choice but to release the three-time All-Pro receiver.
Amid the offseason trade rumours, Hopkins had been notably absent from voluntary OTA workouts and caused a stir earlier this week when he discussed the NFL's top quarterbacks on a podcast and omitted now-former teammate Kyler Murray.
In three seasons with the Cardinals, Hopkins recorded 221 receptions for 2,696 yards and 17 touchdowns in 35 games.
The 10-year veteran has 853 career catches for 11,298 yards and 71 touchdowns.
Mahomes concerned with 'winning rings more than making money'
Patrick Mahomes' focus is on "winning rings" and not making more money, as the Kansas City Chiefs quarterback aims to cement his legacy as an NFL great.
Mahomes was the driving force yet again as the Chiefs won their second Super Bowl in the space of three years to cap the 2022 season.
The Chiefs beat the Philadelphia Eagles 38-35 in Arizona, with league MVP Mahomes completing 21 of 27 passes for three touchdowns.
In the process, Mahomes, who was battling injury throughout the Chiefs' postseason, became the first player since Kurt Warner in 1999 to be crowned NFL MVP and Super Bowl MVP in the same season.
Yet Mahomes, who became the NFL's highest-paid player when he signed a $450million, 10-year contract in 2020, is now only the seventh-highest-paid QB in the league when it comes to average annual salary.
The 27-year-old, though, is not concerned by money, even though the Chiefs have hinted they will look at improving his terms.
"I've always said I worry about legacy and winning rings more than making money at this moment," he told reporters on Wednesday, as quoted by ESPN.
"We see what's going on around the league, but at the same time, I'll never do anything that's going to hurt us from keeping the great players around me.
"So it's kind of teetering around that line.
"You just want to do whatever to not hurt other quarterbacks [financially]. Whenever their contracts come up, you want to keep the bar pushing [higher]."
Mahomes wants to find a sweet spot where he is earning a fair salary that also enables the Chiefs to retain other players who have proved crucial to their success.
He explained: "It's not about being the highest-paid guy; it's not about making a ton of money. I've made enough money that I'll be set for the rest of my life.
"But at the same time, you got to find that line where you're making a good amount of money but you're still keeping a lot of great players around you so you can win these Super Bowls and you're able to compete in these games.
"If you look at the greats in the league, they find that right spot where they're getting paid a lot of money but at the same time keeping a lot of these great players around.
"I understand you look at the team and you've got guys like Chris [Jones] and [L'Jarius] Sneed and even Travis [Kelce], all these guys that you need to keep around you to have these great teams. But at the same time, you want to make sure you're taking care of yourself."
NFL approves rule allowing ball to be placed on 25-yard line on fair catches on kick-offs
The kick-off return is moving closer and closer towards extinction.
The NFL owners approved a rule on Tuesday that allows teams receiving a free kick (kick-off or safety kick) to get the ball at their own 25-yard line if the team calls for a fair catch anywhere behind their own 25.
The rule has been put in place for just the 2023 season, and will be revisited next offseason.
The intention behind the new rule stems from player safety with concussion rates on kick-offs will be reduced by 15 per cent, according to NFL executive Jeff Miller.
Kick-offs are considered the most dangerous play in the NFL, as data shows concussions occurs more than twice as often on them than on plays from scrimmages.
While the new rule should help with head injuries, it also takes away an exciting part of the game. Under the new rule, models suggest that the kick-off return rate will decrease from 38 per cent to 31 per cent.
There will almost certainly be a backlash among players and coaches, as the new rule will likely bring about more squib kicks and other unreturnable kicks.
This is the second major rule change made to kick-offs in the last decade with the backdrop of player safety in mind.
In 2016, the NFL moved touchbacks on kick-offs up to the 25-yard line from the 20, with the rationale teams will take the ball five yards closer to their own end zone rather than risk getting tackled behind the 25. And fewer returns would also likely mean fewer injuries.
The rule change, however, has taken the ball out of the hands out of kick-off returners, and decreased the likelihood of an exciting return.
There were only nine kick-off returns for touchdowns last season – the fewest in a non-strike season since the 1970 merger.
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