Harrison Phillips was hit hard by the news of Damar Hamlin’s injury on Monday.

Hamlin, 24, suffered cardiac arrest after a tackle in Monday’s game against the Cincinnati Bengals, requiring CPR and resuscitation before being taken by ambulance to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center’s intensive care unit. On Friday, the Buffalo Bills revealed that Hamlin’s breathing tube was removed, indicating he is breathing on his own. On Saturday, the team said Hamlin is making “continued progress in his recovery yet remains in critical condition. He continues to breathe on his own and his neurological function is excellent.”

The sports world came to a halt Monday as everyone reacted to the news of Hamlin’s hospitalization. In the days since, support and prayers have rolled in from all corners of football.

The Athletic’s Alec Lewis spoke with Phillips, a former Stanford standout who played with Hamlin in Buffalo last season. Phillips told Lewis that Hamlin would frequently attend his charity events in Buffalo and that their lockers were close together. Now in Minnesota with the Vikings, Phillips wanted to help his teammate however he could.

So, according to Lewis, Phillips got the name of a nurse in the UCMC ICU unit and coordinated food to be delivered to staffers in the unit and family members of Hamlin’s who were there with him.

… Phillips was given the name of a nurse at the hospital in Cincinnati. He connected with her and asked if he could cater food for the doctors and nurses in the intensive care unit as well as the members of Hamlin’s family.

The nurse suggested a sandwich shop. Later that night, dinner arrived for about 50 people, Phillips said. He planned to order more food for the same staffers and family members on Wednesday.

“I’m sure every significant other of a player has said, ‘This could have been you,’” Phillips said. “It touches really hard for us.”

Hamlin remains under the care of the hospital’s ICU staff but has made progress since Monday. The Bills said he FaceTimed with the team on Friday and told the team, “Love you boys.”

Physicians at UCMC have credited the NFL and team medical personnel for their immediate response to Hamlin on the field in Monday’s game, acknowledging the situation could have unfolded much differently if not for the on-field care Hamlin received. Among the medical personnel who rushed into action was assistant Bills trainer Denny Kellington, who was the first to deliver CPR on Monday.