The young player had managed to get to his feet and appeared to adjust his helmet, but then tumbled backwards and laid motionless.
An ambulance drove on to the field as stunned players looked on, and the crowd at the game between the Buffalo Bills and the Cincinnati Bengals fell silent.
Hamlin’s football shirt was cut off, and ESPN reported on its live broadcast of the game that he was also given oxygen.
“No one’s been through this,” NFL quarterback turned commentator Troy Aikman said. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”
Hamlin is now in a critical condition in hospital, the NFL has confirmed.
The team tweeted Hamlin had “suffered a cardiac arrest following a hit in our game versus the Bengals”.
“His heartbeat was restored on the field, and he was transferred to the UC Medical Center for further testing and treatment. He is currently sedated and listed in critical condition.”
Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott led the team in prayer as the ambulance left the stadium. Many of the 24-year-old’s teammates were in tears, and his mother was watching in the crowd.
It is believed she was able to join him in the ambulance en route to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center, which is two miles from the stadium.
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