Commanders were understandably shaken up by Hamlin's collapse originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
Like everyone else who either witnessed it live or who caught up with the situation as it was developing, Commanders linebacker Khaleke Hudson was horrified to see Damar Hamlin experience what he did on Monday night. The Bills safety collapsed on the ground after making a tackle on Bengals wide receiver Tee Huggins.
Like so few, though, Hudson actually has a personal connection to Hamlin, which made the event even more difficult to take in.
Hudson and Hamlin are in a group chat together and text often, Hudson explained Wednesday, and have been close for years due to the fact that they grew up in areas in Pennsylvania that are roughly 30 minutes apart. The two have also been on college recruiting trips together and co-hosted football camps in the past.
Because of that relationship, Hudson was understandably rocked by Hamlin’s collapse that halted the Bills-Bengals game. As he described it, the two are “locked in” as friends.
“When I saw him fall to the ground, I was in shock,” Hudson said at his locker. “I didn’t know what to do after it happened. I was just sitting in my house by myself. I couldn’t even say a word, like at all. I was just trying to reach out to his family, reach out to somebody that had any type of information on how he was doing and what the updates were.”
Hudson eventually got in touch with Hamlin’s father the next morning and, in addition to offering his support, the Washington defender shared that he’s interested in traveling to Cincinnati following the Commanders’ finale this Sunday to be there for the family. Until then, the best Hudson can do is consume the (currently positive) updates on the Buffalo safety and discuss his appreciation for him.
“He’s a very, very, very caring person,” Hudson said. “He likes to give back to the community. He loves his family, he loves his friends.
“He’s just a stand-up guy. He’s everything a kid should want to be. He’s a role model.”
Washington Football Talk Podcast | Listen and Follow | Watch on YouTube
Hudson, of course, wasn’t the only member of the franchise to touch on what unfolded.
To begin his press conference, Ron Rivera read a statement where he passed along that he and the organization are “thinking of that young man.” Per Rivera, he and his players used part of their daily meeting to chat about their feelings on what they saw before running backs coach Randy Jordan led a prayer.
Then there’s Terry McLaurin, who’s extremely thoughtful on essentially all topics that he’s approached with, a trend that continued Wednesday when he faced questions about Hamlin and the profession of being in the NFL.
“I was watching it in shock, genuinely,” McLaurin said. “My first thought was just to start praying for him. Knowing that there was millions of people around the world that were doing the same, that gave me some sort of comfort.”
“As athletes, we know the risk that we take when we put the helmet on, but you never think it’s going to come to that, where it’s life or death,” he added.
McLaurin had issues sleeping once the primetime contest was suspended and, upon waking up Tuesday morning, he checked his phone for the latest news on Hamlin’s condition. And while McLaurin doesn’t anticipate any extra nerves for Washington’s upcoming clash with Dallas, he acknowledged how jarring the entire scene involving Hamlin was.
“The most unimaginable part of our game happened,” he said. “I’m just believing in the best situation, outcome possible.”
