Week 18 in the NFL will be a league-wide celebration of Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin.
Hamlin has been making a remarkable recovery over the past 24 hours following a scary incident in Cincinnati on Monday night that saw him suffer a cardiac arrest on the field. But he is now to a point where he is breathing on his own and speaking to doctors, family, and his Buffalo teammates.
With that progress, the league wants to continue to show its support for him and his recovery.
The 16 games across the league this weekend will give all 32 teams a variety of opportunities to show that support.
Those opportunities will include a pre-game message that teams are encouraged to read over PA systems showing support for Hamlin, as well as the first responders and medical teams that assisted him on the field and in the hospital.
Teams will also be able to outline the “3” on the 30-yard lines of their field in Buffalo red or blue, while players will be able to wear t-shirts during warmups that say “Love for Damar 3.”
The Bills have also been approved to wear “3” patches on their jerseys for their game against the New England Patriots.
NFL teams, players, and fans have already been showing support to Hamlin all week, including a wave of donations to a two-year-old charity drive that was set up to raise money for needy children in his hometown of Pittsburgh. That GoFundMe account has seen more than $7 million in donations since Monday night.
