Washington (AFP) – Detroit safety Morice Norris was in “stable” condition Friday after being taken from the field in an ambulance with a frightening injury that halted the Lions’ NFL pre-season game with the Atlanta Falcons.
“Morice Norris is in stable condition and has feeling and movement in all his extremities,” the Lions said in a statement after the scary scenes unfolded at Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium. “He will remain at Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta overnight for observation.”
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Norris was attempting a tackle on Atlanta’s Nathan Carter when he appeared to take an inadvertent knee to the head. He lay motionless on the ground for several minutes and was tended by medical staff from both teams as concerned players looked on.
“He’s breathing, he’s talking. It’s good. He’s got some movement,” an emotional Lions coach Dan Campbell said in comments on Norris’s condition at his post-game news conference. “Now they’ll just run more tests.” Both teams agreed to let the remaining 13 minutes on the clock run out. The coaches sent players back onto the field, but after the ball was snapped, they stood together in a show of support for Norris at the 50-yard line.
The contest was officially suspended with 6:19 remaining and the Lions leading 17-10. Campbell said he agreed with Falcons coach Raheem Morris on halting play. “Raheem Morris is a class act,” said Campbell, who added that “it just didn’t feel right to finish that game.” Morris said the decision to let the clock run down was a “simple” act of respect to Norris, his family, and the Lions.
He said it was “tough” to talk to his own players after the game. “There’s not a lot of times that happens,” the Falcons coach said. “I can’t sit here and tell you that I have been through a lot of those or seen a lot of those. I don’t think any of us have.”
Campbell said Norris’s mother was at the hospital with him and that several Lions players would also stay in Atlanta. Norris, 24, joined the Lions as an undrafted free agent in 2024. He played in two regular-season games last season, playing mostly on special teams, and played in the Lions’ playoff loss to Washington. He was re-signed by the Lions in January.
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