Bengals' Tee Higgins receives support from mother of Bills' Damar Hamlin

Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins continues to receive support from the family of Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin following Monday's terrifying events. 

As ESPN's Ben Baby noted, Higgins gave his first public comments on Thursday since Hamlin went into cardiac arrest during Monday's prime-time game. Higgins said Hamlin's mother has offered prayers and other encouraging messages. 

"It was just telling me she's thinking of me, praying for me and things like that, telling me he's OK, all the good positive stuff," Higgins explained. He added he was happy to hear University of Cincinnati Medical Center doctors say earlier in the day that Hamlin is improving. 

Hamlin collapsed shortly after he tackled Higgins on what seemed to most observers to be a routine football play in the first quarter of Monday's matchup. As Jenna Lemoncelli of the New York Post pointed out, former NFL player and current ESPN analyst Bart Scott later suggested that Higgins lowering his helmet may have caused Hamlin's medical emergency. 

On Wednesday, Jordon Rooney, Hamlin's close friend and marketing representative, made it clear that the safety's family doesn't blame Higgins and wants others to stop criticizing the receiver for "a freak football accident that could have happened with anyone at any time." Per ESPN's Alaina Getzenberg and The Associated Press, the exact cause of Hamlin's cardiac arrest is unknown. 

Fellow Bengals receiver Tyler Boyd said he's checked in on Higgins throughout the week, and Higgins indicated he wants to play in this Sunday's regular-season finale between the 11-4 Bengals and 10-6 Baltimore Ravens held at Cincinnati's Paycor Stadium.

Monday's Bills-Bengals encounter was temporarily suspended and eventually postponed, and it was reported Thursday that the NFL doesn't plan to resume the game. Assuming that's the case, the Bengals could be named the AFC North division champions over the second-place Ravens via overall winning percentages regardless of the outcome of Sunday's contest.