The preseason game between the Detroit Lions and Atlanta Falcons at Mercedes-Benz Stadium was suspended in the fourth quarter Friday night after Lions safety Morice Norris was taken off the field in an ambulance with a serious injury.
Norris appeared to take an inadvertent knee to the head while attempting to make a tackle on a running play by Atlanta’s Nathan Carter with 14:50 to go. The Lions said he was transported to a local hospital for further evaluation.
“He’s breathing, he’s talking. It’s good. He’s got some movement,” Lions coach Dan Campbell said to open his postgame news conference. “Now, they’ll just run more tests.”
Norris was attended to for about 20 minutes on the field as players from both teams joined hands in unison.
When play resumed, Falcons quarterback Emory Jones took a snap and then held the ball as players from both teams stood at the line of scrimmage and the clock continued to run.
Finally, with 6:31 left, an official announced the game had been suspended “per New York.” The Lions led 17-10 when played was stopped.
Campbell said it was the coaches’ decision.
“Raheem Morris is the ultimate class act,” he said. “We agreed it wasn’t right to complete that game.”
Lions quarterback Kyle Allen said he was praying for Norris, adding, “It’s a terrible game sometimes.”
“I don’t think anyone on that sideline wanted to play,” Allen said. “We weren’t part of that decision, but you could just look in everyone’s eyes and see it wasn’t worth it.”
Norris, 24, originally joined the Lions as an undrafted free agent in 2024 out of Fresno State. He spent time on Detroit’s practice squad before joining the active roster last season. He was re-signed to the squad in January after appearing in two games last year.
“It’s an eye-opener. It hits a little different,” Campbell said. “It puts things in perspective. Man, it’s a violent game.”
ESPN’s Marc Raimondi, Eric Woodyard and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Source link
