Bills wide receiver Stefon Diggs recalled feeling torn about his reaction when his teammate, Bills safety Damar Hamlin suffered cardiac arrest on the field against the Bengals in January.

Diggs opened up about Hamlin’s medical emergency in the season six premiere of Uninterrupted’s “The Shop” on Thursday, and said he questioned if he was “messed up” for wanting to continue playing the Week 17 game — which was ultimately suspended and later cancelled.

“The Shop” host Maverick Carter asked Diggs about what it was like being on the field with the Bills when Hamlin’s medical emergency occurred, adding that he saw Diggs trying to rally his team together.

“… It’s hard to describe because it’s inconsistent on how to feel,” Diggs said after explaining how he witnessed his late father flatline in the hospital. “… Guys crying and in that moment, I couldn’t do anything but other than — if I know Damar Hamlin personally, which I do like a little bro — get your guys ready to go. Rally your guys behind him because if you didn’t have something to play for, you got something to play for now.”

Advertisement

Advertisement

“Of course, they ultimately ended the game… which was probably in the best interest. But in that moment, if we had to go back out there, I know Damar would’ve want us to play… because when he came to finally his first words were, ‘Did we win?’

“I was a little iffy. I was like ‘Damn, am I messed up for wanting to get guys to play?’ Obviously, some guys couldn’t. But then when he woke up and said ‘Did we win,’ it was reassuring that I know he has a winning spirit. I knew my little bro would’ve wanted me to go bump with them, not go and leave.”

Diggs added, “That’s my thing,” when Carter said he seems to be the teammate that rallies others together.

Earlier in the episode, Diggs referenced Hamlin’s injury while explaining how serious the game of football is.

“For people who feel a way about [football], I’ve got to put it into perspective for you,” Diggs said. “Our Damar Hamlin situation, when we kind of damn near lost somebody on the field. That’s how physical it is. That’s how serious it is, so when people refer to it as a game, I like to say, ‘I’m not out there playing.'”

Diggs, among other Bills players, chose to stay in Cincinnati while the team flew home after the “Monday Night Football” contest was suspended.

The Pro Bowl wideout was seen arriving to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center, where he was stopped by security while trying to visit Hamlin, who was in the ICU.

ESPN’s Coley Harvey, who was outside the hospital reporting on the incident, said on the broadcast that he vouched for an emotional Diggs with authorities as the wideout tried to explain his relation to Hamlin.

After Hamlin was resuscitated on the field by the Bills medical staff during the first quarter at Paycor Stadium, he was transported by ambulance to UC Medical Center, where he was placed on a ventilator.

When the 24-year-old safety awoke from a medically induced sedation, his doctors said he asked who won the Bills-Bengals game.

Hamlin communicated the question by writing on paper, as his breathing tube was still in at the time.

Hamlin was discharged from a Buffalo hospital after he underwent further medical testing following a week-long stay at the UC Medical Center. 

The second-year safety attended the Bills’ Divisional Round matchup with the Bengals, which took place at Highmark Stadium in Buffalo 20 days after his medical emergency.

Hamlin, who is on injured reserve, has a long road to recovery.

He requires the use of oxygen and is having his heart monitored regularly, according to his longtime friend and business partner, Jordon Rooney.

Uninterrupted hosted a premiere party for season six of “The Shop” on Wednesday night in New York City, which was attended by Carter and the show’s co-creator Paul Rivera.