SANTA CLARA — Yes, it has been an incredibly difficult few days in NFL locker rooms around the nation.
But it seems there has been little to no thought given toward a league-wide pause in the playing schedule.
The games will go on. And for the 49ers, that means an important regular-season finale Sunday against the Arizona Cardinals at Levi’s Stadium.
“That’s tough, but it’s the reality of the business,” said linebacker Oren Burks, the 49ers’ player union representative.
Buffalo Bills second-year safety Damar Hamlin was administered CPR on the field Monday night in Cincinnati. He remains in critical condition but has shown "remarkable improvement," the Bills said Thursday.
While the players have the power to force postponement of the schedule, Burks said that was never under serious consideration.
“I feel like if we band together, something like that could happen,” Burks said. “But at the end of the day, we love playing this game. It’s a risk you know you take when you go out on the field.”
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Offensive lineman Mike McGlinchey got a whole new understanding of how his career choice impacts those around him.
He was watching the game with his fiancé, Brooke, when the severity of Hamlin’s condition became known. Then, McGlinchey’s mother called.
“It hits you in the mouth that every time I take the field, there are people holding their breath waiting for me to be OK,” McGlinchey said. “It’s a terrible part of this job, but it’s something we all love to do and something we’re all fortunate to get to do.”
Every player in the NFL has experienced severe injuries or seen them up close with teammates and opponents.
But what was so unique about Monday night's events was the life-threatening situation that unfolded in real time in front of more than 65,000 fans and a large national television audience.
Defensive end Nick Bosa said he felt a lot of different emotions because it was something not often seen on the football field.
“It was extremely sad and shocking ... confusing, for sure,” Bosa said. “Just something you don’t usually see. It’s super sad.”
General manager John Lynch and coach Kyle Shanahan sent a message to all the players that the 49ers would offer the services of clinical psychologist Dr. Joe Mattox for players and family members.
“He's usually here on Tuesdays for a little bit, but we made him available all day,” Shanahan said. “A lot of players used it. The thing we found out was most of them used it for their wives and people like that. A lot of our players, they were doing all right, but I think the wives used it the most.”
Said Burks, “The staff has done a good job of making sure mental health resources are available. Coaches have been checking in on guys. On that front, they’ve done a great job.”
Players understand and must come to grips with the inherent dangers of playing the sport. Those risks are something everyone understands and has weighed.
“It’s a harsh reality. It’s a dangerous game,” Burks said. “But it brings a lot of joy to me. I love playing the game of football.
“It’s violent. There’s a lot of different things around that. It’s just really heartbreaking to see it go down like that for [Hamlin]. It could have been any one of us in this locker room.”
Burks said he did not want to brush over Hamlin’s situation, though it is understood that players get paid to play football — even under the most adverse times.
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The fact of the matter is that the 49ers’ game Sunday is important. The team is heading to the postseason, but they enter their game against the Cardinals with any of the top three seeds in the NFC playoffs as possibilities.
“We’ve all made this decision a long time ago that you can get hurt, and you can get hurt bad,” McGlinchey said.
“We’re fighting for everything right now. We’re so close to achieving the goals that we’ve always wanted to achieve. That’s what the focus has to be this week.”