Wednesday, Cincinnati Bengals head coach Zac Taylor met with the media for the first time since Monday’s first-quarter postponement of the primetime game against the Buffalo Bills.
As expected, topics ranged from the health of Damar Hamlin and the sequence of events on Monday night, to how the team might be prepping for the as-scheduled Week 18 game against the Baltimore Ravens.
The Bengals resumed mostly normal operations on Wednesday, holding a walkthrough at their indoor facility with a small handful of players expected to talk to reporters that night, too.
Here’s a look at the most notable news and notes from Taylor’s presser.
Laurel Pfahler of the Dayton Daily News captured Taylor’s opening thoughts:
#Bengals coach Zac Taylor: "Our thoughts and prayers are with Damar Hamlin, his family, loved ones, the Bills organization… Looking forward to him seeing all the support he's getting. … That will be a great day."
— Laurel Pfahler (@LaurelPfahler) January 4, 2023
Taylor had big praise for first responders, per Charlie Goldsmith of the Cincinnati Enquirer:
Zac Taylor thanks the medical professionals, the trainers and doctors on both sides, the emergency response team and more.
"They were on it. They were composed. It was a complicated situation everyone was trying to process."
"Seeing the composure… they were prepared."
— Charlie Goldsmith (@CharlieG__) January 4, 2023
Taylor noted Hamlin’s status and impact of the medical personnel on site, via ESPN’s Ben Baby:
Zac Taylor, on Damar Hamlin's status base: "I was led to believe it was going to be positive because of how they handled (on the field)."
— Ben Baby (@Ben_Baby) January 4, 2023
Taylor credited officials for handling things well too, per Fox 19’s Jeremy Rauch:
Zac Taylor points out the officials did a tremendous job.
"Everyone on the field could feel the seriuosness of the situation. They did a great job of stepping back."#Bengals @fox19
— Jeremy Rauch (@FOX19Jeremy) January 4, 2023
Taylor says he didn’t immediately speak to anyone but Tyler Boyd, a friend of Hamlin’s from their local area:
"When the ambulance pulled away, we came together with Sean McDermott and determined to take a few moments as teams to process."
Zac says he didn't say a word to anyone but Tyler Boyd. Knew what was going on in his mind.
— Jeremy Rauch (@FOX19Jeremy) January 4, 2023
Taylor noted the first words exchanged with Bills head coach Sean McDermott, per Fox 19’s Joe Danneman:
#Bengals head coach Zac Taylor: Once the ambulance left the field and I had a chance to go talk to Sean McDermott.
First thing he said was, “I need to be at the hospital with Damar.” At that moment, Zac says, he really showed who he is.
— Joe Danneman (@FOX19Joe) January 4, 2023
On how the meeting of the captains in the Bills locker room came about, via Paul Dehner Jr. of The Athletic:
Taylor: Bengals captains met Taylor in the hallway. Said wanted to speak to Bills captains. Wasn’t sure at first, but when those captains met could tell was something both teams needed.
So much respect for Bills captains.
— Paul Dehner Jr. (@pauldehnerjr) January 4, 2023
On whether there was a push from the league to keep playing:
Taylor said there was no push for anything to happen. The teams just needed a couple minutes to process and that's when he went and spoke with McDermott and it was decided to send the teams to their locker rooms. #Bengals #Bills
— Laurel Pfahler (@LaurelPfahler) January 4, 2023
Taylor said he expects everyone during practices and that they will handle it at the appropriate time if a player doesn’t want to take the field:
Zac Taylor: "This was a tough situation. This is a one and very small chance of that happening. Players that play football know that."
— Charlie Goldsmith (@CharlieG__) January 4, 2023
The full presser:
Head Coach Zac Taylor speaks to the media.
https://t.co/KkDVcG74rD— Cincinnati Bengals (@Bengals) January 4, 2023
