Giants Country

Giants Offer Prayers for Bills Safety Damar Hamlin

The New York Giants begin their week of practice with heavy hearts as prayers continued to flow for Bills safety Damar Hamlin.

Patricia Traina

Giants Offer Prayers for Bills Safety Damar Hamlin
Giants Offer Prayers for Bills Safety Damar Hamlin /
In this story:

New York Giants head coach Brian Daboll hasn't been much of a hat guy since coming to East Rutherford, but on Wednesday, he was sporting a very special piece of headwear.

Daboll, one of several Giants employees previously with the Buffalo Bills along with Hamlin, wore a baseball cap emblazoned with the Giants' "NY" logo and a large No. 3, the jersey number of Bills defensive back Damar Hamlin, who went into cardiac arrest during Monday night's game between the Bills and the Bengals and who remains in critical condition at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center's intensive care unit.

Giants head coach Brian Daboll, wearing a hat with Bills DB Damar Hamlin's No. 3 emblazoned on it, poses before the Giants practice on Wednesday.
Head coach Brian Daboll with his cap honoring Bills safety Damar Hamlin / New York Football Giants

“On behalf of our organization, myself, (general manager) Joe (Schoen), the players, some of the coaches, some of the staff members, a lot of us have been around Damar,” Daboll said to open his press briefing on Wednesday. “We offer our prayers to him, his family, and people in that organization.

“It’s tragic to see. I feel for Damar most importantly, his family but all the players and coaches that are around him every day. He’s a tremendous young man, and I just pray for a recovery.”

Among the current Giants with ties to Buffalo since 2021, the year Hamlin was drafted by the team in the sixth round out of Pittsburgh, include Daboll, Schoen, assistant coaches Bobby Johnson and Laura Young, quarterback Davis Webb, center Jon Feliciano, receiver Isaiah Hodgins, cornerback Nick McCloud, and running back Matt Breida. Safety Jason Pinnock was a college teammate of Hamlin's at Pittsburgh.

Daboll said that during the team's meeting before their Wednesday practice, the medical staff, director of wellness and clinical services Dr. Lani Lawrence, and team chaplain Gian Paul Gonzalez all addressed the team, with Gonzalez leading a group prayer for Hamlin's recovery.     

"It’s been difficult the last couple days," Daboll said, declining to go into detail of what was said during the team meetings. "This is a relationship business, and when something like that happens to people that mean a lot to you – or even if you don’t know them, you have just a great amount of respect for (them) – it really doesn’t matter what job you do. But having been around the young man, I know him. I know the type of person he is." 

Join the Giants Country Community

Published
Patricia Traina
PATRICIA TRAINA

Patricia Traina has covered the New York Giants for 30+ seasons, and her work has appeared in multiple media outlets, including The Athletic, Forbes, Bleacher Report, and the Sports Illustrated media group. As a credentialed New York Giants press corps member, Patricia has also covered five Super Bowls (three featuring the Giants), the annual NFL draft, and the NFL Scouting Combine. She is the author of The Big 50: The Men and Moments that Made the New York Giants. In addition to her work with New York Giants On SI, Patricia hosts the Locked On Giants podcast. Patricia is also a member of the Pro Football Writers of America and the Football Writers Association of America.

Home/News