The football community continues to show an outpouring of support for Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin, with positive developments on Thursday setting off a wave of jubilation.
Hamlin has been at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center since he suffered a cardiac arrest during Monday night's game against the Cincinnati Bengals. But on Thursday morning, the Bills announced that Hamlin "has shown remarkable improvement over the past 24 hours," according to the doctors treating the 24-year-old in the UCMC's intensive care unit.
"While still critically ill, he has demonstrated that he appears to be neurologically intact," the team said in a statement. "His lungs continue to heal and he is making steady progress. We are grateful for the love and support we have received."
In the days since the frightening incident on Monday night, donations have poured into a GoFundMe originally established in 2020 by Hamlin for a Pittsburgh community toy drive in his native city. The fundraiser, which has skyrocketed well into the millions over the course of this week, has since provided an update that it will now be used for "Damar's community initiatives and his current fight."
Below is a collection of reactions from around the football world -- and beyond -- to Thursday's news:
Cleveland Browns offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt, who was a backup quarterback with the Bills from 1994-2003 and also served on Buffalo's coaching staff from 2006-09, reacted emotionally to being told of the Bills' announcement regarding Hamlin's progress:
Bill Hillgrove, a play-by-play broadcaster for the University of Pittsburgh Sports Network, spoke to NFL Now regarding what he knows and appreciates about Hamlin's character, ending with, "Let's all root root root for No. 3":
