Frostbite from 2016 playoff game had fingertip amputation a possibility for Kam Chancellor

Last year's Wild Card game between the Dolphins and Chiefs featured temperatures that were both bone-chilling and, for some, flesh-killing.

Some fans who attended the game developed frostbite. There were reports of amputations, although the specifics remain unclear.

A new article from ESPN.com looks back at the deep-freeze playoff game, and it adds something new. After the January 2016 open-air playoff game in Minnesota, the last played outdoors before the opening of the dome that replaced the Metrodome, Seahawks safety Kam Chancellor's case of fingertip frostbite had amputation on the table.

"I had never had frostbite," Chancellor recently told ESPN.com. "I was like, 'Wait, are y'all going to cut my fingers off?'"

At the time, he posted photos of his fingers, with the skin peeling beneath the nail.

Although he wore gloves during the game, the damage occurred due to sweat that froze inside the gloves.

"You're out there playing in that cold weather and you're out there sweating," Chancellor said. "And then once you take a timeout, you're standing or sitting down, now all that sweat is on you and it's cold as hell. So, sweat makes it worse."

The potential for games played in ultra-cold conditions has increased, now that the season has expanded to 17 games. It will get worse if/when (when) another game is added to the regular season.

As noted by ESPN.com, the league monitors weather patterns, with two or three alternate stadiums reserved in the event a game must be moved. Given last year's weather issues at Wild Card games involving the Dolphins and Chiefs (which was not moved or delayed) and the Steelers and Bills (which was delayed by a day), the league started planning for playoff weather contingencies earlier than usual.

When it comes to cold, the NFL has never had a temperature or wind-chill minimum. After what happened to Chancellor, it should have established one. After last year's Dolphins-Chiefs game, it absolutely should.

While fans attend open-air games with full knowledge of the conditions, and assuming full risk of the potential consequences, a decision to play the game at the scheduled time and in the scheduled venue carries with it an implication that it's safe for human beings to attend. Even if no one could ever credibly claim that the league has a legal obligation to reschedule or relocate a game, there's a moral obligation.

If, after all, football is family, football should never put its family members in harm's way.