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CNN reports Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Russell Gage was taken to a hospital with a concussion after an injury during a NFL Wild-Card playoff game against the Dallas Cowboys Monday, his coach said.
The game was paused with two minutes and 55 seconds left in the fourth quarter after Gage fell awkwardly after he was hit across his neck on a second down play at Tampa’s Raymond James Stadium.
“They took him to the hospital right now, he has a concussion.
They’ll also test him for potential neck injuries,” Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles said in the postgame news conference following the team’s 31-14 loss to the Cowboys.
It was only Monday, Jan. 2, in the middle of the first quarter of Monday Night Football, Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin made what seemed to be a routine tackle.
Yet shortly after standing up from tackling Bengals’ Tee Higgins, Hamlin collapsed onto the field where he lied motionless.
A Pulitzer-Prize-winning artist created a larger-than-life mural of Buffalo Bills Safety, Damar Hamlin, in Buffalo.
The mural shows Hamlin making a heart sign with his hands while wearing his #3 jersey.
When Hamlin collapsed on January 2, speed was of the essence. Studies find that for every minute someone who experiences cardiac arrest and doesn’t receive CPR, their chances of survival decrease 7 to 10%.
Hamlin’s heart was restarted on the field. The 24-year-old spent more than a week in the hospital in Cincinnati, then transferred to a hospital in Buffalo before he was released home last week.
Sills said that being on the field was likely a factor for Hamlin: Survival is more likely for someone who experiences cardiac arrest in the hospital. One study found that 10 to 12% those who have cardiac arrest outside of the hospital survive to discharge, but that survival rate more than doubled for those who experienced cardiac arrest in the hospital.
The artist behind it, Adam Zyglis, the staff cartoonist for the Buffalo News, says the mural represents people from all over the country coming together to support Hamlin and the City of Buffalo.
“I got caught up as everyone did in the moment with this incredible story of Hamlin and his recovery. It became sort of this moment for the country of unity, it was just incredible. After he just made his full recovery and back to Buffalo, I was just inspired to capture this, piece of Buffalo Unity and the national unity,” says Zyglis.
As Hamlin makes his recovery, it is now Gage who is recovering from a fight for his life in a hospital bed.
More life-threatening injuries have occurred during primetime games this season than any before it, a renewed focus on the health and safety of the inherently violent sport will surely be reexamined during the offseason.
Russell Gage and Damar Hamlin reflect a dangerous trend
StyleCaster reports the 2022/23 season has been plagued by high-profile injuries, like Indianapolis Colts quarterback Nick Foles who left a game after being sacked by a Giants linebacker, appearing to convulse with a rib injury.
Hamlin himself was replacing Bills safety Micah Hyde who’s been out with a neck injury, while fellow teammate and Bills corner Dane Jackson became immobilized after injuring his neck in a game against the Tennessee Titans in September.
As of Tuesday afternoon, Gage proved to have mobility in his extremities, tweeting his progress from the sideline after dodging the hit that could’ve ended more than his career.