It was a very strange back to work day for the National Football League. Just 48 hours ago from the time of this posting, the league and the nation was in a state of shock after seeing Damar Hamlin being tended to by first responders after collapsing on the field in the first quarter of the Monday night game between his Buffalo Bills and the Cincinnati Bengals. After tackling Tee Higgins, Hamlin went into cardiac arrest. It took nearly 45 minutes for medical personnel to get him stable enough to be taken by ambulance to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center where he remains in critical condition at the intensive care unit. The scene of players from both teams huddling in prayer, many in tears, before leaving the field for the locker rooms, will stick with millions who watched it all unfold on national television.
The NFL suspended the game, announcing it will not be resumed this week, possibly not at all and the week 18 schedule will go on as planned.
That’s where the Packers come in because even before they returned to the practice field, Head Coach Matt LaFleur began his Wednesday press conference by discussing the seriousness of Damar Hamlin’s case, the heartfelt concern for his recovery and his family and the impact this has all had on the NFL family which includes Hamlin’s brethren in Green Bay.
From the players perspective, veteran wide receiver Randall Cobb admitted it wasn’t easy going back to work by simply compartmentalizing the gravity of Hamlin’s case with doing your job.
Aaron Rodgers spoke eloquently about it during his appearance on Pat McAfee’s podcast Tuesday and said today he’s still shaken up by it all.
Rasul Douglas was in full agreement with suspending the game saying there was no way he would have come back to play.
Even the mood at practice was subdued right down to the music piped in during team stretch. The squad conducted only a jog through session that was planned even before Monday night’s incident.
The only player who didn’t participate was Rodgers, given a day of maintenance and rest while getting past the thumb, rib and knee injuries he’s dealt with much of the season.
Christian Watson, Keisean Nixon, David Bakhtiari, Elgton Jenkins, Aaron Jones and Yosh Nijman were all listed as limited participants and Krys Barnes was a full participant.
Nixon meanwhile, today was named the NFC Special Teams Player of the Week for his 105 yard kickoff return touchdown against the Vikings last Sunday. He also had a 10 yard punt return. Nixon leads the league in kickoff return average, remarkable considering he took over the job full time at mid-season.
The Packers added two players to the practice squad on Tuesday. Tight end Austin Allen is a first year player out of Nebraska who spent six weeks on the New York Giants practice squad in 2021. Kicker Matt Ammendola has also been brought on board. He’s a second year pro out of Oklahoma State who spent time with Carolina and the New York Jets last season, appearing in 11 games. This year, Ammendola was with Houston in training camp with regular season stops in Kansas City and Arizona where he dressed twice. He’s 18 of 26 on field goals in his career. The Packers needed another emergency kicker behind Mason Crosby after Ramiz Ahmed was promoted to the game day roster against Minnesota with the intention of handling kickoff duties but he got hurt during pre-game warmups.
