It's still hard to talk about football after what happened to Damar Hamlin during Monday night's game between the Cincinnati Bengals and Buffalo Bills.
The Bengals, of course, are scheduled to play the Ravens on Sunday at 1:00 EST while the Bengals/Bills game has not been rescheduled as of this writing. It's hard to imagine a scenario where it could be rescheduled without giving the Bengals and Bills a major disadvantage heading into the postseason but that's a story for a different day.
Joe Burrow and the rest of the Bengals team spoke to the media on Wednesday for the first time since Hamlin collapsed on the field and Burrow revealed that some members of the team had conversations about not playing this weekend.
Joe Burrow said there were side discussions about not playing Sunday vs. Ravens but nothing as a whole team. He said if you polled the locker room it would be mixed votes.
— Cameron Wolfe (@CameronWolfe) January 4, 2023
Burrow says personally he wants to play even though it’ll be tough. Other teammates may feel otherwise.
Joe Burrow says Bengals were split on whether they wanted to play this weekend
Burrow himself said that he wants to play but he understands that it's a tough situation to be in. What these players witnessed on Monday night had to be traumatic and I can't imagine witnessing something like that and then having to turn around not even a week later and take the field. Not to mention, it'll be the same field where Hamlin collapsed.
There has not been word yet on if this weekend's game pitting the Bengals and the Ravens against each other is for the AFC North title or if the Bengals have already locked it up. The time slot the game has been given would indicate that the division title is not up for grabs but no one really knows what's happening now.
No one would blame the Bengals players if they chose not to play this weekend. Offensive coordinator Brian Callahan said that it'd be understandable if guys opted not to suit up this weekend but said that no one had said anything to him about it.
Please consider donating to Damar Hamlin's toy drive if you haven't already.